The Mendel Art Gallery is situated on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River. Its permanent collection exceeds 5,000 works of art. In 2005, it began a major renovation project that will expand the size of the gallery by seventy per cent. In September 2005, however, the City of Saskatoon announced that it had entered discussions with the Mendel to the end of having the Mendel abandon its renovation/expansion project in favour of instead relocating the facility to a new arts and culture centre that is planned for the south downtown area.
The Art Gallery of Saskatchewan was announced in April 2009 as the replacement for the Mendel Art Gallery, which will be constructed at River Landing, around the previously constructed Remai Arts Centre, which houses the Persephone Theatre company. The Art Gallery will be built matching contributions of $13 million from the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan. The City of Saskatoon and other key partners have also committed funding in support of this project. The total estimated costs for the Gallery, which will serve as the destination centre for the River Landing project, will be approximately $51 million.
Currently, the City of Saskatoon is waiting for design proposals on the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. According to the Mendel Art Gallery website, the new Gallery will be a multi-storey building, adjacent to Persephone Theatre, in the range of 80,000 square feet (7,400 m). The facility will allow up to three times the present available gallery space and will include studio and classroom space for education programs including an adaptive community studio and lecture theatre, meeting rooms and space for administrative functions. Emphasis will be placed on meeting functional requirements while also providing an appropriate signature architectural presence in the city’s south downtown. The atrium that is visualized for the front of the Gallery will provide not only adequate space for Gallery
