In the midst of trade wars, tariffs, a looming recession and upcoming federal elections, some good news has arrived on the Canadian cultural scene: the provincial government of Ontario will invest up to C$50m ($36m) to expand the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
The McMichael, founded in 1966 in the small town of Kleinburg just north of Toronto, is Canada’s largest publicly funded art museum focused exclusively on Canadian and Indigenous art, with a permanent collection of more than 7,000 works by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. It also boasts an extensive collection of works by First Nations, Métis, Inuit and contemporary artists. Its grounds include the shack where Thomson lived for the two years preceding his untimely death at age 39.
“Our government’s investment will help McMichael modernise and grow, protect the gallery’s C$750m collection and secure the institution’s status as a world-class cultural tourism attraction for generations to come,” Stan Cho, Ontario’s minister of tourism, culture and gaming, said in a statement. “Now more than ever, it’s important that we support Canadian culture and the institutions that preserve and promote our shared history and collective identity.”
This is Ontario’s first capital investment in the McMichael in 43 years. It will support much-needed repairs and upgrades to the museum’s 70-year-old building, increasing the capacity for its existing programmes, meetings and special events. There is much speculation about which architecture firm will be selected to revamp the museum, but for now there is no official announcement.
“We have been working with the province of Ontario for several years now as we have developed our plans for the renovation and expansion of our museum—the only one in Canada devoted exclusively to Canadian and Indigenous art,” Sarah Milroy, the McMichael’s executive director and chief curator, tells The Art Newspaper.
She adds: “It has been particularly wonderful to make this announcement at this time, as Canadians are really pulling together in celebration of our distinct and rich culture. From the Indigenous first stewards of these lands, to the Europeans who came next and all the myriad diasporic communities that have come from around the world to make up the cultural mosaic of Canada today—all of us have a place at the McMichael.”
Combined with the C$25m ($18m) received from the federal government in early March, the provincial investment means, Milroy says, “We are well on our way to securing a bright future for this critical institution. We are thrilled to be moving forward.”
