SASKATOON – Government officials gathered at River Landing on Friday afternoon for the official sod turning ceremony for the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.
In mid-May, the site was turned over to EllisDon Corp. for the construction of the $74.2 million gallery.
“The Remai Art Gallery will be a significant cultural landmark for Saskatoon and Saskatchewan and our government is proud to support it,” Saskatoon Sutherland MLA Paul Merriman.
A wide-variety of gallery and exhibition programming will take place throughout the gallery spaces with room for art education studios, a 150-seat lecture theatre and a multipurpose room.
A “Picasso Room” will house a collection of the artist’s linocut prints thanks to a donation made by the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation.
The federal government is contributing up to $13 million and the provincial government also committed over $16.7 million.
Saskatoon is contributing approximately $23.5 million and nearly $21 million was raised through private donations.
“Thanks to the extraordinary contributions of our donors, volunteers and gallery staff, the vision of the new Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan will be realized and Saskatoon will have a gallery that matches the creativity, ambition and energy of our growing city,” said Jason Aebig, Remai’s Board of Trustees president and chair.
The gallery is expected to welcome its first art enthusiast in spring 2016.
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