Winnipeg is home to more than 25 national historic sites, including the Confederation Building (1912), the Exchange District (1880), and Fort Garry Hotel (1913). The Manitoba Theatre Centre is Canada's oldest English regional theatre, and is one of many in the city. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the country. Film crews are a popular sight, perhaps due to the abundance of heritage locales, and movies such as Shall We Dance and Capote were filmed in Winnipeg. The inspiration for Winnie the Pooh, a black bear named Winnipeg, was named after the city.

ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS

• Founded in 1912, the Winnipeg Art Gallery is the 6th largest art gallery in Canada. With a collection of nearly 24,000 artworks, the WAG focuses on regional and national artists, though they also have a selection of Greek sculpture dating back to the 4th century BCE. The world's largest public collection of Inuit art makes its home within the walls, as well as photography and decorative arts.

  True to the gallery's mission, the building in which it currently resides was built by a local architect in 1971. Over the years additional vault space and a new roof sculpture garden have been added to the institution. In addition to Inuit artists Marion Tuu'luq, Kiashuk, Joseph Pootoogook, and Jesse Oonark, the permanent collection includes pieces by Canadian artists John Hammond, Robert Harris, and William Brymner, and international artists Marie Laurencin, Augustus John, Henry Moore, and Eugene-Louis Boudin.

• Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is a studio and gallery space dedicated to exhibiting art that "confronts ideas and issues affecting today's society." The organization showcases recent work with no limit to genre: from painting and sculpture to architecture, television, audio, and other new media.

  Hosting exhibits, tours, lectures, events, and web-based projects, Plug In strives to bring contemporary art to Manitoba. The organization was established in 1972 as a non-profit gallery space run by artists. The group is responsible for bringing to fruition provincial intiatives like Video Pool and MAWA (Mentoring Artists for Women's Art). They promote interaction between artists, and between art and the public.

• Established in 1933, the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library is dedicated to the preservation of handcrafts. The library, in addition to the original books on knitting and quilting, includes historical resources and design books related to folk art crafts. More than 5,000 documents exist within the library, as well as patterns, and other important crafting materials.

  The museum currently holds more than 10,000 objects, from historical times to the present day. Craft styles showcased include crochet, ceramics, weaving, woodwork, paper, and more.

• Featuring the work of three of the province's most renowned artists, the Pavilion Gallery Museum is located in Assiniboine Park in The Pavilion, a building constructed in 1930 by a local architect. It was restored and renovated in 1998 to become the gallery seen today. The museum has the largest collection of works by Clarence Tillenius, Ivan Eyre, and Walter J. Phillips. The space is also home to a Winnie the Pooh collection, and the Leo Moi Sculpture Garden.

• Gallery One One One at the University of Manitoba
• Gallery 1C03 at the University of Winnipeg
• C Space
• Grollé Fine Art
• Martha Street Studio
• Stoneware Gallery
• Urban Shaman Contemporary Art Gallery
• Warehouse Artworks
• Loch Gallery Winnipeg
• Pulse Gallery

ARTISTIC INSTITUTIONS

• The University of Manitoba provides artistically inclined students a number of art-related programs including ceramics, art history, drawing, drama, graphic design, printmaking, sculpture, and textile sciences. Master's degrees in architecture, fine art, interior design, and textile sciences are also available to those choosing an academic path.

  Founded in 1877 as Western Canada's first university, the school is divided between three campuses in or near the city, and enrols almost 30,000 students each year in over 60 undergraduate and 30 graduate programs. In addition to a dedicated architecture and fine arts library, the school is home to Gallery One One One, which collects and exhibits both contemporary and historical art and hosts local and international shows.

• Red River College offers a variety of creative art programs at their four Winnipeg campuses and six additional locations around the province. Two year diploma programs are available in creative communications, digital media design, graphic design (and 1-year advanced diploma), as well as an 8-month certificate in photography, a 4-month certificate in residential decorating, and a one-year post-grad diploma in 3D computer graphics.

  Established in 1938, the college offers more than 200 degree, diploma and certificate programs, and enrols more than 30,000 students. In addition to the post-secondary offerings, the institution also provides kids technology camps throughout the year, and hosts the program "Girls Exploring Trades and Technologies" for young women aged 12 to 14.

• Study Theatre, Film, and Art at Canadian Mennonite University.

• Forum Art Centre offers classes in watercolour, abstract landscapes, animation, portrait drawing, acrylics, and more.

• Take a class in sculpture, drawing, or painting, or enrol the children in a summer camp at ParadiseFound Art School

• The Cre8ery provides day-long art workshops like "Channelling Your Inner Picasso," as well as art studio and classroom rentals.

• Enrol in a week-long workshop for painting, drawing or bookmaking, or take a beginner lesson in pen and ink illustration or mixed media at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

NATIVE ARTISTS

There are plenty of artistic people originally from, or currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba!

• Ivan Eyre is a painter who worked at the University of Manitoba School of Art for more than 30 years.

• An illustrator who created cover art for The Beaver publication for more than 40 years, Clarence Tillenius (1913-2012) worked in watercolour and oil, charcoal, and mixed media.

• Walter J.Phillips (1884-1963) played a role in popularizing Japanese woodcuts in Canada. He was also a watercolour painter.

• A stained glass artist and sculptor, Leo Mol (1915-2009) is featured in the Sculpture Garden outside the Pavillion Gallery Museum.

• Wanda Koop is a painter and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. She is also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Order of Canada.

• Actors Tom Jackson, Anna Paquin, Adam Beach, and Deanna Durbin.

ART AND CULTURAL EVENTS

Annual Events

• The Art City Fundraiser takes place each May.

• The Cluster New Music + Integrated Arts Festival is held in March each year.

• Envision, Wolsley's Festival of the Arts is a community art fair held in May.

• Folklorama is a folklore and art festival held each year since 1970.

Other Events and Sights to See

• Learn all about Man and Nature at the Manitoba Museum through archaeological, historical, and botanical exhibits.

• The Assiniboine Park Zoo has sloths, polar bears, kangaroos, and much more, as well as Education and Discovery centres.

• Do some shopping at unique local venues, and have some delicious Manitoban food at The Forks.

• Be sure to catch the Red River Ex each June, for art, rides, concerts, and more.

• Trek across the nearly 650 foot span of the Esplanade Riel pedestrian bridge, which crosses the Red River.

• The Archives of Manitoba has a wealth of written and visual documentation outlining the history of the province and its people.

• For more great things to see and do in Winnipeg, visit Tourism Winnipeg.

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