The Mendel Art Gallery’s first exhibition opened up a whole new world to the people of the prairies, says Gregory Burke.
“The idea that an exhibition like that was opening a gallery in Saskatoon — that probably only had a population of 100,000 at that time — is just phenomenal,” says Burke, the Mendel’s director and CEO.
The exhibition included works from several German expressionist painters as well as pieces from Braque and Renoir.
“I don’t think there was anything like that in Canada.”
The Mendel brought culture to Saskatoon and will leave a lasting impact, Burke says. Sunday will be bittersweet for him.
The gallery, which was opened by Fred Mendel in 1964, is set to close at 9 p.m.
The building will be converted into the Children’s Discovery Museum while much of the art will move to the new Remai Modern Art Gallery.
“The Mendel Art Gallery is a very fine building. It just has outlived its purpose for us,” says Burke. “I'm very pleased that it's remaining and that it will be taken over by the children's museum.”
Construction on the children’s museum is set to begin right away, with the facility to open in 2017. The Remai gallery is scheduled to open late next year.
