Sited near an ancient First Nations gathering point at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in Winnipeg, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights embodies the global movement to recognize and expand the rights and freedoms owed to all peoples.
Izzy Asper, the museum’s visionary founder, believed it was essential to balance education about historical atrocities including the Holocaust and the oppression of indigenous peoples, with a forward-looking vision for advancing human rights for all.
The museum journey begins in the stone roots of the building and rises along gentle alabaster ramps that glow with filtered natural light, creating a serene atmosphere as visitors move through the Ralph Applebaum designed galleries. Exhibits invite moments of pause and consideration, punctuated by intimate spaces of respite or by larger gathering areas such as the Garden of Contemplation, where visitors can reflect and discuss their individual experiences.
The ascending path leads toward the “Tower of Hope,” an iconic beacon reminiscent of a contemporary mosque of Samarra encased in an icy blue embrace that responds not to distant deserts of Iraq or New Mexico, but to the prairie and the cold Assiniboine river. Symbolic of transformation, from ice to water to vapor, the Tower offers sweeping views of sky, city, and landscape, standing as a life-affirming reminder of humanity’s potential. Encased by the light filled Cloud that houses support spaces, it rises in striking contrast to the stone roots below, a visible testament to the power of hope.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights makes visible the fundamental unity of humankind, rising from the earth and dissolving into the Winnipeg horizon (I liked what you had before). The abstracted wings of a white dove wrap a mythic stone mountain of 450-million-year-old Tyndall limestone, juxtaposing ephemerality with enduring solidity. An apparition of ice, cloud and stone set in a field of sweet grass, the museum stands as an expression of our shared humanity.
Antoine described the museum as “a unifying and timeless landmark for all nations and cultures of the world” and it stands as one of the Studio’s highest achievements during his lifetime.
