The Gas Station Arts Centre is receiving a $600,000 investment from the federal government in support of its ongoing renovations.
The news was announced by Madeleine Chenette, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, at a news conference in the Osborne Village theatre on Friday.
The Gas Station is in the midst of multi-year redevelopments. So far, this has included new seating, new carpeting, improved house lighting and ongoing upgrades to the courtyard, which, when complete in the spring, will feature new greenery, a performance area and permanent fencing being installed as a response to public safety concerns in the area.
Executive director Nick Kowalchuk says the additional federal funding will further empower the organization to expand its lobby, open a new café and wine bar, and create upgraded gender-neutral washrooms in the coming year.
The centre’s expansion will absorb space next door formerly claimed by a Subway restaurant, a commercial renter that moved out last year.
“We are thrilled with the Government of Canada’s support. As we evolve with a variety of performances, our artists and patrons are so excited about the changes,” he says.
The performing arts centre regularly hosts film screenings, art exhibitions, plays and concerts and is associated with the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and the Winnipeg Improv Festival.
A cornerstone of Osborne Village, the venue has struggled in certain respects over the past decade as street crime and assaults have risen in the neighbourhood.
Kowalchuk long campaigned for upgrades to modernize the facility and make it more resilient.
“I just can’t help but make sure that (Kowalchuk) gets lots of credit because he is the guy who’s kept this place alive through some tough times, dealt with all of the challenges of Osborne Village as it goes up and down and up and down,” says Geof Langen, chairman of the organization’s fundraising committee.
Federal funding was provided by Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund and dovetails with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s so-called “elbows up” commitments to Canadian protectionism and sovereignty.
The 2026-27 budget announced in November offered significant investments in media-production funds, but also budgetary reductions to Canadian Heritage, one of the cultural sector’s largest umbrella funders.
Chenette highlights how the 2026 budget’s emphasis on infrastructural upgrades isn’t just about ports, rails and roads but culture as well.
“Culture is who we are — and in order to express that, we need to have the space. So the infrastructure of culture, just as we are doing here, is so important,” she says.
While the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund’s budget was reduced to focus on funding specialized equipment, the 2026-27 budget sets aside $2.8 billion for a program supporting capital projects across all sectors, including arts and culture.
While Chenette says that Canada’s media industry is “key” — adding that Winnipeg has “great production” — she emphasizes the importance of supporting more performance-based and social forms of arts and culture.
“Experiential is not through a phone. It is not through a screen. It is through people connecting to each other. So, investing in those facilities to bring people to come to a festival, to an exhibition, to have a coffee in the space is inspirational,” she says.
winnipegfreepress.com/conradsweatman
Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad.
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