MAWA on Main
Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art finds a new home
Jeanne Fronda, Staff
Photo by David Lipnowski.
Once there was meat, now there’s art. Beyond the Exchange District, which is crammed with art galleries, antique shops and museums, lies Main Street. Home to a Salvation Army shelter, picturesque murals and lush concert halls, Main Street is diverse in its structures and scenery.
Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), an organization that has nurtured the growth of women’s participation in the visual arts for 20 years, has found a new home at 611 Main Street. Officially opening its doors on Friday, November 4, MAWA has taken over the building that formerly housed Norman’s Meats.
MAWA’s new building, which still had meat hooks dangling from the ceiling before the organization took over the space, has been revamped. Designed by Winnipeg architect Neil Minuk, the new area now houses offices, a resource centre and a multi-purpose area for workshops and programs. An apartment suite, which is located on the second floor and is still under construction, is also a new addition for MAWA’s mentor in residence program. Once it’s complete, the residence will be used to house visiting artists on a six-week basis.
But the centre’s road to a new home wasn’t easy. Before MAWA had its very own building, its seminars and lectures were run in partnership with other art organizations. The centre’s original building hardly had room for offices, so MAWA often had to run some of its programming in another gallery’s space.
Vera Lemecha, the executive director of MAWA, said the new location was an excellent choice.
“It’s a perfect fit for us. We needed to move out of the Exchange District,” said Lemecha, who explained the new location would mean MAWA would be more prominent in the downtown area.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have the kind of visibility and access this space will provide us.”
Diane Whitehouse, an artist and one of the founding members of the centre, was delighted with MAWA’s new home.
“I’m very, very proud of this day. It was . . . an experiment initially to draw on the great strengths of mentoring. My congratulations to the current women working around MAWA . . . . It is a wonderful thing to be part of something that worked,” said Whitehouse.
According to Statistics Canada, visual arts was listed as one of the fastest growing fields between 2002 and 2003; it’s no wonder an organization like MAWA has found a way to improve its space.
MAWA, an artist-run centre, will receive $31,500 in funding from the Government of Canada in order to help cover the costs of equipment and creation of new programs. The centre also receives the support of many other organizations, such as the Winnipeg Arts Council and the Winnipeg Foundation.
Anita Neville, the parliamentary secretary for the minister of Canadian Heritage and minister responsible for the status of women, participated in the ribbon cutting. She was confident that MAWA’s new space would be successful.
“I’m delighted to be here . . . . It’s quite an exciting time for the organization,” she said. “Tomorrow starts today for MAWA, and we’re all pleased.”
Neville said the new place will have a “ significant impact on the art community, and it will enhance the opportunities for artists’ present work.”
Other future additions to the centre include the hiring of an Aboriginal liaison. Lemecha said some key goals of MAWA are to develop more rural and remote programs and to do more outreach at universities with the help of a student representative.
Being one of the groups to spearhead Main Street’s revitalization and to extend the arts world outside the Exchange District, MAWA will continue to develop its unique focus on mentoring.
So with its new digs, complete with a spacious multi-purpose room and a resource centre brimming with art books, magazines, slides and catalogues, MAWA’s sparkling new home is likely to be a place where art can flourish. That’s something no respecting art lover could have a beef over.
