A new addition is soon to come to the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon. World-renown Manitoba artist, Peter Sawatzky, will be showcasing a collection of his sculptures on the Riverbank grounds.  

General Manager, James Montgomery, says they’re very excited to be adding more of Sawatzky’s beautiful art pieces to what they already have. The next addition will be the iconic sculpture of caribou crossing a river, titled, ‘Seal River Crossing’. 

“This will be a huge tourist attraction for the Riverbank and for Brandon,” shares Montgomery. “It’s another destination and another unique thing that we can bring to our city that will hopefully add enjoyment and an appreciation of the Arts for visitors and locals.” 

Montgomery says they are actively planning and fundraising for The Peter Sawatzky Sculpture Garden with the majority of the pieces being displayed along Conservation Drive. 

“A major piece, the Seal River Crossing’ will be displayed at the corner of 18th Street and Kirkaldy,” he shares. “We have a miniature here in the Centre, but the full completed piece [outside] will cost about $350,000.  This entire project will definitely come to a couple of million dollars,” he notes. “We’re looking at buying the pieces, but also the prep-work and the trails plus the garden part to along with the sculpture garden.” 

The Riverbank collection will be themed after animals commonly found in the province, including northern Manitoba, this being a theme the Glenboro artist feels passionately about. 

“There are already some around the centre and around the Fusion Credit Union stage, and some pieces are ready to go, and then some pieces will be created by Peter specifically for the Centre here,” explains Montgomery. 

“This is a very exciting addition that we’re hoping we can have completed in the not-so-distant future, although it could take some time as they all are quite expensive,” he adds. “We’ve created a fundraising team here of local folks and are actively recruiting if anyone is interested!” 

Photo below: James Montgomery poses with the bronze sculpture of ‘Seal River Crossing’