Currently under construction in Winnipeg is the very ambitious Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The museum, which occupies a part of The Forks complex in Winnipeg, was the brainchild of Winnipeg’s late media mogul Izzy Asper. It has received funding from an impressive range of federal, provincial, municipal, and private sources. The museum will emphasize human rights as a global subject, though it will apply a specifically Canadian approach to the question. In the words of the museum’s mission statement, it will proceed with “special but not exclusive reference to Canada.”
The intellectual and political underpinnings of the museum are quite bold. Exhibits will encourage political action on the part of museumgoers, and there will be a focus on contemporary human rights issues. It is expected that there will be sections devoted to the Holocaust as well as human rights in Canada. On this last subject, the museum will not shy away from a recognition of Canada’s own shortcomings in the field of human rights.
Architecturally, the building will also pack a wallop. Designed by Antoine Predock, an Albuquerque-based architect known for placing the surrounding physical environment front and center in his buildings, it will consist of several very conceptual components. Museum attendees will enter the building from between large stone arms, the building’s “Roots.” There will be an enormous glass Cloud encircling the building, as well as a surging Tower of Hope that will offer striking views across the city and the prairie beyond. There will also be an internal Garden of Contemplation, which will be characterized by the use of water and medicinal plants. Throughout, there will be careful attention to the local environment, from a foregrounding of First Nations traditions to the use of Manitoba’s home-quarried Tyndall limestone.
The museum is a multiyear project. Construction began in 2009 and is expected to continue through 2012. There are hopes in Winnipeg that this very ambitious building will trigger a Bilbao Effect for the city, a confluence of architectural innovation, dynamic local venues, and lifestyle industry to lure tourists to visit. Certainly, Winnipeg has extreme weather against it, though I’d wager that many of the ingredients necessary for such a transformation are already in place.
Free guided tours of the construction site’s perimeter can be arranged through the nearby Explore Manitoba Centre at The Forks (204-984-1731).
See other posts from my roadtrip to Winnipeg series here.
Some media support for my Winnipeg visit was provided by Tourism Winnipeg and Travel Manitoba. All opinions expressed are my own.