BUILDING ANTICIPATION
A crowd gathers outside the Remai Modern Art Gallery to hear the announcement of its opening date, which will be Oct. 21. The gallery’s funding was approved in 2009 and was supposed to be complete by 2014, but had a number of delays during construction.
Mayor Charlie Clark says now that the opening of the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is set, it’s time to get past the negative chatter around the project and to start looking forward to the experience, describing the process as a journey.
Despite public skepticism, delays and remaining questions about the gallery’s total cost, news of the opening was met with applause from a crowd of about 100 city councillors, gallery dignitaries and donors gathered outside the building on Monday. Many said the opening will mark a new chapter in Saskatoon’s history, regardless of the “bumps in the road” along the way.
“I’m very hopeful that once we finally get to open and people get to walk in themselves and experience it, they say, ‘Wow. This is a really special building. This is a place that we’ve never had in our city and this is going to be a significant gathering place,’” Clark said.
The most important element of the gallery, which is expected to cost between $108.8 million and $110.8 million, will be its status as a place for all Saskatoon residents, not just patrons of the arts, he said.
The final cost of the project still being negotiated.
“I know there’s still questions and concerns out there about is this a gallery for just people who are art lovers, or just people who are wealthy, but it cannot be that. It has to be a gallery for everyone,” Clark said.
Many have expressed concerns about the closure of the Mendel Art Gallery during the Remai’s construction, and some organized a petition to “Save the Mendel.”
The inaugural exhibit at the gallery, “Field Guide,” will be curated by executive director and CEO Gregory Burke and director of programs and chief curator Sandra Guimarães. It will encompass all parts of the building and will pull from the gallery’s collection of contemporary indigenous and Canadian artists.
The opening exhibit will also include a collaborative project by Ontario-based artists Tanya Lukin Linklater and Duane Linklater, the debut of the gallery’s collection of Pablo Picasso prints and a critical workshop by Thomas Hircshhorn, described as an “immersive project” where participants will contribute to the overall piece as teachers and students.
The new gallery was originally approved for funding in 2009. The initial cost was pegged at roughly $58 million, and it was supposed to be completed in 2014. The cost has doubled, but Burke said the process has been worthwhile.
“The countdown is on,” he told the crowd, adding he’s confident skepticism will dissipate once the gallery opens. Construction that is still visible on the outside of the building can be considered final touches, with workers focusing on things like repair of deficiencies and making sure the building is 100 per cent sealed from the climate, Burke said.
Officials are “quietly confident” the gallery will be able to meet its revenue projections of $550,000 in 2017, he added.
“Everyone will be just be blown away. Even if they felt strongly about the gallery shifting location and the new gallery being built. When you see inside, it’s extraordinary.”
Clark predicted the gallery will become Saskatoon’s “living room.” While the building’s cost is still being negotiated, the keys have been turned over to the city and the negotiations won’t affect the scheduled opening date, he said.
“Sometimes, when something’s challenging, it makes it that much better in the end when you get it open.”