Winnipeg Free Press

It's easy to love the elegant turn-of-the-century buildings of the Exchange District. But ask someone about the style of our city hall (built in 1963-65), and chances are they'll say it looks like a prison -- or worse. Often perceived as stark, boxy, cold or institutional, the post-Second World War buildings in our midst are seldom thought of as beautiful. "I think it's been a knee-jerk reaction, since the '70s or so, to hate modernist architecture," says Serena Keshavjee, a professor in art history at the University of Winnipeg. "But I've always felt that if it was shown in an artistic way, and people had the chance to see these buildings out of their normal contexts, that it might seem more beautiful." Keshavjee has teamed with University of Manitoba architecture professor Herb Enns to guest-curate an exhibit at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, highlighting our city's unique and important collection of modernist structures.