News & Updates

New Public Art Projects

Posted on: July 9, 2020

New public art projects!

A project from the Winnipeg Arts Council has led to seven new public art projects being opened with the second stage of the 11-km Southwest Transitway.

The Winnipeg Arts Council has distributed Connecting Routes Along the River a map and guide to the art work.  A national call for artists was released in 2016 with digital versions of archival photos and documents put online for artists to explore, along with facts gleaned from the research. 

"An oversized copper-coloured kettle catches the sunlight, evoking the warmth of a Metis community pushed to Winnipeg’s margins before being evicted; the tops of sugar beets pop out of the ground, hinting at the ‘unseen’ treatment of Japanese Canadians interned and forced to work in Manitoba farms that grew the vegetable; and a trio of spoked wheels link together in sculpture, recalling the method of transport that enabled the fur trade between Indigenous and settler communities: the Red River cart." (Source: https://winnipeg.ca/ourstories/2020/200709.stm)

The transitway, along with its adjacent active transportation routes, took approximately three years to build and finished approximately $46 million under budget.  

Winnipeg's Public Art Program has been an award winning model and a leader in public art best practices since its inception.  Winnipeg Arts Council continues to play a major role in making Winnipeg a leader in Public Art development and programming.

Return to Article List