On Sept. 10, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) announced a three-year partnership to share pieces between the two institutions. This means that visitors at the WAG can view works and exhibitions from both Canadian and international artists.
The NGC has done two partnerships of this kind before: with Edmonton’s Art Gallery of Alberta in 2009 and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto in 2010.
These types of relationships ensure that audiences across Canada can enjoy the endless list of masterpieces the NGC holds. It not only secures the democratization of culture, but it benefits students. Specifically, it helps those in art-related disciplines to choose from a cornucopia of choices for research and dissertation purposes.
Perhaps now other museums can learn from this action and return the favour to the nation’s capital. The country’s geographical vastness makes a mere trip to Toronto to see something like this summer’s Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario impossible, or the Matisse and European Modernism collection currently on exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The development of a flourishing, visual arts community across the country stems from these kinds of initiatives. It also fosters awareness of Canadian artists. With a mecca like New York City a 10-hour drive away, why not form partnerships with American east-coast museums?
All we ask, museum directors and curators, is that you don’t forget about us, and share the art with your fellow city. We like art too.
