On the waterfront: Gallery to open in new Windsor home with exhibits of Canada's finest art

February 4, 2001

BY FRANK PROVENZANO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The architectural statement of the newly constructed Art Gallery of Windsor is characteristically Canadian -- modestly designed with a subtle reminder not to overlook the country often considered to be in the cultural shadow of the United States.

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Art Gallery of Windsor

Opens Saturday 401 Riverside Drive W. Windsor 519-977-0013

With the gallery's opening this Saturday, the metro region will have another major exhibition venue for contemporary art that rivals the Detroit Institute of Arts, Cranbrook Art Museum and the University of Michigan Art Museum. For years, local museum watchers have looked to the DIA to open an annex for the sole purpose of exhibiting contemporary, rather than historic, works. In the third year of a 10-year capital campaign, however, the DIA is focusing on expanding its current site, rather than developing an adjunct facility.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the hopes are shifting across the Detroit River to the Windsor waterfront.

For now, the Art Gallery of Windsor intends to show works of Canadian artists and exhibits from permanent collections of Canadian museums. That, however, is almost certain to change within the next 18 months to include North American artists, and possibly up-and-coming contemporary arts exhibits that the DIA cannot show because its exhibition schedule is set years in advance.

While Nataley Nagy, director of the gallery, contends there is no direct competition with the DIA, the mission of the Art Gallery of Windsor is to become a catalyst to broaden the appeal of contemporary arts.

"Until now, it's been an undiscovered venue," says MariaLouisa Belmonte, director of the Detroit Artists Market, a cooperative gallery featuring the works of area artists. "They're committed to doing it right, and they're making a statement, 'We're going to increase our community.' "

Signs of a renaissance

After nearly eight years inside a nearby shopping mall, the gallery returns to its previous home on the eastern edge of downtown Windsor, the former temporary site of Casino Windsor.

On the second-level atrium of the gallery, located on the Windsor waterfront, the floor narrows and extends as a bow of a ship aimed at the Detroit River. The building's ship-like hull points across the river toward the shimmering cylindrical office towers once a symbol of Detroit's renaissance-in-waiting, and current world headquarters of General Motors. The unmistakable message: A renaissance isn't exclusive to just one side of the border.

This Saturday's opening of the $24-million stone, metal and glass architectural jewel features the first-ever nationally touring Canadian exhibit to travel to Windsor. The exhibit, "Impressionist Masterworks from the National Gallery of Canada," is a modest 13-painting survey of the widely popular works of Monet, van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Gauguin, Boudin, Pissarro and Sisley.

"The idea is to draw in people who might not come into a museum, but know of impressionism, and like the view of the waterfront," says Lois Smedick, gallery board president. "It sounds like a cliche, but there's a new opportunity and challenge to exhibit fine art that lives up to the art of the building itself."

The three-story, 70,000-square-foot gallery is commonly referred to as the "western balance" of the Windsor skyline. The adaptable floor plan with retractable walls allows for galleries to be shaped according to the demands of exhibits, from small-scale paintings to mammoth sculpture to video art. And with high-tech amenities such as sophisticated climate control and security systems, the art gallery offers the necessary physical requirements to attract major national and international exhibits.

"The pride of the building is that it is functional, distinctive and fits its context," says architect Gene Kinoshita of Moffat Kinoshita Architects of Toronto. Kinoshita also designed the expansion of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and the newly built YMCA in Sarnia, Ont.

A block behind the gallery is the proposed building site of an arena to be used for sporting events, concerts and trade shows. Several blocks away, construction is under way for the new DaimlerChrysler Canada Headquarters. And there's speculation that a hotel will be built on the site next to the gallery along the riverfront.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Consulate has been holding meetings to bring together representatives of cultural institutions from Windsor and Detroit, including the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

"The arts aren't constricted to national boundaries," says George Costaris, manager of public affairs for the consulate.

Marilyn Wheaton, director of cultural affairs for the City of Detroit, agrees. "The more galleries we have in the area, the healthier we will be," she says. "There's tremendous opportunities for collaboration with Windsor, and the arts are no exception."

Collaboration between the Art Gallery of Windsor and American artists, however, will have to wait until the gallery revises its goal to exclusively exhibit Canadian artists.

"Now is the time to revisit our mandate," says Nagy, director of the gallery, who expects within the next 18 months that a broader definition of who can exhibit will include North American artists.

A collaborative effort

The widespread optimism about the upcoming opening is the result of collaboration among the gallery, the City of Windsor and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission, which owns the casino and contributed $20 million of the total $24-million building cost, according to Stephen Marshall, a gallery board member, who oversaw the 18-month construction. Fund-raising and donations generated the balance of the funds.

"Many people leave town to have a gallery experience, but now, Windsor can give them what they want," says Marshall.

In 1972, the Art Gallery of Windsor moved into the former Carling Breweries warehouse. Then, in 1993, the gallery rented the warehouse to Casino Windsor as a temporary space. Meanwhile, the casino also paid the rental cost at Devonshire Mall for the gallery. The rental revenue paid to the gallery generated an $8-million endowment. When Casino Windsor moved out three years ago, it agreed to contribute $20 million to the building of a new art gallery on the site.

"The Art Gallery of Windsor is a model for how casinos can play a role in developing an attitude about how to give people a reason to come downtown," says Windsor Mayor Michael Hurst. The generosity is due in part to the casino being owned by the Province of Ontario, and the understanding among civic and business leaders of how a museum could attract visitors to the city, says Hurst.

Says gallery board member Marshall: "People are saying, 'We deserve this.' "

Contact FRANK PROVENZANO at 313-222-6696 or provenzano@freepress.com.