Fondo - Volunteer Committee

The Volunteer Committee of the Winnipeg Art Gallery began in 1948, as an auxiliary to assist the Winnipeg Art Gallery Board of Governors in stimulating interest in the Gallery. Two goals were set for this committee at this time that still hold true today. Two goals were established for the Volunteer Committee: education and the purchase of Canadian works of art for the Gallery. Art purchase began in 1953 and in 1960 the beginning of the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit Art began with the purchase of 139 pieces of Inuit sculpture from the George Swinton collection. The educational mandate of the Volunteer Committee has various dimensions. Beginning with the show and sale “Do You Own a Canadian Painting?” which lead to the first Winnipeg Show, a juried exhibition and sale of the work of Canadian contemporary artists. The Volunteer Committee put on a total of 12 Winnipeg Shows. Today support for Manitoba artists continues with ongoing sponsorship of the Manitoba Studio Series, the Grand Jury Exhibition and Sale, and the sale of works through Art Rental and Sales. Other activities organized by the Volunteer Committee throughout the years include Art Fairs, held in Assiniboine Park and Polo Park Shopping Centre. In 1950 the Committee took over the Art to the Schools from the Junior League which had been running it since 1937. Other education activities included Art in the Park and the financing of Studio Programs scholarships for young people whom otherwise could not afford to attend classes. The Volunteer Committee also participate in Study Groups were each member presents a paper on the artists she has been researching. “The Volunteer Committee has been a bedrock support for the Gallery over the past 50 years, the Committee’s work in so many areas of the Gallery, from acquisitions to exhibition support to running the Gallery Shoppes to Studio Program scholarships, is tangible evidence of its deep commitment to the Gallery and to the entire community.” – Tom Smart Acting Director (1998)
The Volunteer Committee used to be known as the Women’s Committee.