Winnipeg, MB (November 29, 2016): The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) History Foundation has donated $500,000 to the Manitoba Museum’s Bringing Our Stories Forward Capital & Endowment Campaign – the campaign’s largest private donation to date.
Once completed, the Bringing Our Stories Forward project will result in the renewal of 23,000 square feet, or 42% of the Museum`s gallery spaces, with upgrades to the Orientation, Grasslands and Nonsuch Galleries, and the construction of a new Winnipeg Gallery.
The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) History Foundation board issued the following statement: “HBC is a uniquely Canadian company, and it’s been interwoven with the development of the country as a whole for centuries. The Foundation is proud to support the Manitoba Museum’s Gallery renewal project with this lead gift.”
In 1994, HBC, the oldest commercial corporation in North America donated the HBC Museum Collection to the Manitoba Museum, and established the Hudson’s Bay Company History Foundation with a named endowment to the Manitoba Museum to provide support for the ongoing care and access to these invaluable artifacts in perpetuity.
“We take great care and pride in the Nonsuch and the HBC Museum Collection’s preservation, promotion and accessibility for generations to come. It is one of Canada’s most unique and treasured collections,” says Claudette Leclerc, Manitoba Museum Executive Director and CEO. “We are honoured to have been entrusted with the internationally important HBC collection, and we are looking forward to renewing the Nonsuch Gallery experience and showcasing more of the HBC Museum Collection with the Bringing Our Stories Forward capital project.”
“Bringing Our Stories Forward is part of a longer-term, three-step project for renewal that dovetails with our institutional vision to ‘shape Manitoba’s future by expanding knowledge, sharing stories and encouraging discovery,’” says Jeoff Chipman, Campaign Chair. “The Capital Renewal Vision started with the Alloway Hall Expansion and Renewal project, followed by the Bringing Our Stories Forward initiative. It concludes with its most ambitious phase: the construction of a new, stand-alone Science Centre – the crowning jewel of a project that encompasses education, collections and community outreach.”
The official completion of the renewed galleries in 2020 is planned to coincide with Manitoba’s 150th celebration, HBC’s 350th anniversary and the Manitoba Museum’s 50th anniversary.
