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Very soon, you’ll be able to visit the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina one day a month, free of charge.
It’s the result of a $1-million donation from Gordon and Jill Rawlinson and Rawlco Radio.
It will allow for free admission days 12 times a year for the next five years. It’ll also help provide creative exhibitions and programs.
“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of Gordon and Jill Rawlinson and Rawlco Radio,” says MacKenzie Art Gallery executive director and CEO Anthony Kiendl.
“We have spent the last several years working towards expanding and refining our exhibitions and programming, and this generous gift will strengthen our capacity to be a creative hub and meeting place, fostering meaningful experiences of the world through art. We could not be happier to have Rawlco Radio as an active partner, promoting free admission days, as well as the MacKenzie’s current offerings and events, throughout the community.”
Since June, the MacKenzie Art Gallery has charged admission to access the second floor gallery space, which houses the gallery’s current exhibitions. Access to the museum’s ground floor, including the BMO Learning Centre, Craft Services, and the Shumiatcher Theatre, has remained free for visitors.
Rawlco Radio and the MacKenzie Art Gallery Free Admission Days will provide free access to the entire gallery with special events 12 times a year.
“On behalf of the board of trustees, I want to thank Gordon and Jill Rawlinson and Rawlco Radio for this gift which, at its core, is a gift to the people who live and work in Regina, and across Saskatchewan as much as it is an investment in the gallery itself,” said Nathan Schissel, the president of the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s board of trustees.
“It is people who animate the gallery as a vital community hub where encounters with art enrich the lives of countless visitors, and we look forward to the dynamic and rich addition that Rawlco Radio and the MacKenzie Art Gallery Free Admission Days will bring to the gallery.”
“The MacKenzie Art Gallery is an incredible Regina institution,” said Gordon Rawlinson. “Jill and I are thrilled to help ensure the museum is accessible to everyone. We hope that the many free admission events will offer memorable experiences and enhance the quality of life in Regina.”
The first Rawlco Radio and MacKenzie Art Gallery Free Admission Day will take place on Nov. 16. It will coincide with the opening of two new exhibitions: Uprising: The Power of Mother Earth — Christi Belcourt, A Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch; and Banners for New Empires — Rajni Perera and Nep Sidhu.
Both exhibitions will be open for viewing with free admission from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, a celebration of the opening will take place, in partnership with the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan as part of Saskatchewan Multicultural Week.
Located in Regina’s Wascana Park, the MacKenzie is Saskatchewan’s first public art museum. Founded in 1953 as part of the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (later the University of Regina), the gallery became independent in 1990, with a mission to broaden both its programming and its audiences.
Looking ahead to the MacKenzie’s 70th anniversary in 2023, the gallery has focused on a series of campaign initiatives, including bolstering its funding sources, growing its collection, and making strategic renovations to its facilities.
Rawlco Radio operates seven radio stations: Three in Regina, three in Saskatoon and one in Calgary. The Saskatoon stations are C95 FM, Rock 102 FM, and 650 CKOM.