Posted Sep 20, 2016, 2:44 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Saskatoon, SK
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Saskatoon gallery a community-building masterpiece
ANGELA KRYHUL
SASKATOON — Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2016 5:00AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2016 10:32AM EDT
Quote:
What could the Remai Modern, Saskatoon’s new multimillion-dollar art gallery and home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of Picasso linocuts, possibly have in common with the folksy Saskatoon Farmers’ Market?
Quite a bit, as it happens. Situated along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, the Remai Modern is a multipurpose facility whose programming and design have been inspired by many of the qualities that make the nearby Farmers’ Market so successful: an inclusive, friendly and authentic community space that offers the tantalizing prospect of discovery, adventure and entertainment.
The Remai Modern hopes to be all of those things. It will certainly be a signature attraction for the Prairie city, the largest art gallery in the province. With an estimated annual gross domestic product impact of $17-million, it will also make a significant contribution to the local economy.
Finishing touches are still being put on the 11,582-square-metre, four-storey building – construction is several months behind schedule because of “delays resulting from drawing corrections and clarifications,” according to a city council report – with the opening slated for sometime in early 2017. “We’re working very closely with the builder, Ellis Don, and the gallery, but we just don’t have a firm date at this time,” says Catherine Gryba, general manager, corporate performance, at the City of Saskatoon.
There will likely be cost overruns, too. Construction is budgeted at just more than $106-million, of which $84.6-million is attributable to the Remai Modern, and the remainder to construction of an underground parkade that will connect the gallery with the adjacent Persephone Theatre. City council expects the project could exceed the budget by $2.5-million to $4.5-million.
The idea for the Remai Modern germinated in 2009, after the city abandoned plans to expand the Mendel Art Gallery. City council instead approved a new purpose-built gallery for River Landing, an ambitious, 30-year project to redevelop a 36-acre parcel in the south downtown area. With private donations and three levels of government pledging funds, council in 2011 approved the design concept put forward by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects of Toronto (KPMB) in association with Architecture49, the architect of record.
That same year, Saskatoon philanthropist Ellen Remai donated $30-million on behalf of the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation, with half going toward construction costs and $500,000 annually for 30 years for enhanced exhibition programming. Determined to help forge an international profile for the new gallery, the Foundation in 2012 gifted 405 linocuts by Pablo Picasso, valued at $20-million. Since then, philanthropist Frederick Mulder has donated an additional Picasso linocut as well as 23 ceramic pieces by the famed artist.
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