LAST month, Gail Asper gave a couple of impassioned speeches — heard primarily by the city's economic elite — but intended for us all.
Her central purpose was to pump up support for the proposed $311-million Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which, five years after being proposed by her late father, Izzy Asper, is far from a sure thing.
The speeches had a bigger related theme, though.
In making her pitch for the museum, and expressing hope that its construction could ignite a civic renaissance, Gail asked a question that should resonate with delegates to today's city summit on our future.
"When did Winnipeggers stop dreaming?"
The genesis of the question, which sounded more like a challenge, comes from her experience championing the human rights museum.
There is, of course, the notion from Central Canada that Winnipeg is not deserving of a national museum.
What's worse, though, is that Gail is constantly defending the grandeur of the museum's design and extent of its programs against those in our own community who see it as too expensive and too grand for Winnipeg.
" 'Cut the cost,' they say, and build something more modest — a big box, standard, cookie-cutter, Wal-Mart-style building filled with modest collections and artifacts." Gail didn't grow up at her father's knee thinking of herself, or her city, as not deserving of the best. Sure we need to fill our potholes and plow our streets and make sure the mosquitoes get properly slapped around.
But we have to take care of our civic pride and psyche, too, which is what Gail is suggesting. And the way we choose to design our buildings — to present ourselves to the world and ourselves — is reflective of that.
Which brings us to the answer to Gail's question.
If you look at it from an architectural point of view, we stopped believing in ourselves — and stopped dreaming — around the turn of the last century.
As I thought about what Gail was suggesting — about architecture being a metaphor for our sense of self worth, our vision for and our commitment to our community — I couldn't help but ask myself another question.
What example of Winnipeg architecture in the last 20 years has made a bold, grand and beautiful statement about who we are and where we're going?
Maybe the Manitoba Hydro building will fill that bill when it's finished.
But as it stands, I could think of only one signature structure of recent times.
The spectacular Esplanade Riel.
The MTS Centre, which could have been a signature building worthy of our city's hockey culture, was done on the cheap.
Grand Forks has a better, grander arena.
Those are my thoughts, not necessarily Gail's.
But she did say this:
"It's time Winnipeggers dare to challenge mediocrity, cynicism and self-effacement, and push and shove our way to the front of the line. It's time to dream bigger things and work together to make them happen."
In other words...
Think big, Winnipeg.
Or we're destined for what we deserve.
Another, even bigger, big box.
gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca