A new cultural arts centre, multi-purpose room and outdoor teaching area is now open at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, Premier Wab Kinew and Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced on January 24.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be here with the community celebrating the grand opening of Swan Valley Regional's new spaces," said Kinew. "I'm energized to see how well these new spaces represent the school and community and how they will serve as a hub for cultural and creative expression. Our government will continue to advocate for students and invest in key infrastructure and support students and families in communities across the province."
"An arts education opens doors for students to share their voices and helps students understand each other and celebrate the cultures that make Manitoba unique," said Schmidt. "These new spaces will be a place where students and community members can learn, share and create together."
The $16.6 million investment includes:
- a 4,200-square-foot cultural arts centre featuring a large auditorium with a raised stage;
- a 2,100-square-foot multi-purpose room; and
- an outdoor teaching area located adjacent to the cultural arts centre.
"This expansion is about more than adding square footage," said Kinew. "It's about bringing the school and community together to celebrate shared culture and to foster connection and creativity."
The new cultural arts centre at Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, a Grade 9 to 12 high school located in Swan River, will support the school's arts and culture curriculum and accommodate increasing area enrolment. The cultural arts centre will offer a space for a wide range of arts and culture programming including square dancing, Ukrainian dance lessons, art exhibits and band concerts.
The multi-purpose room will provide additional space for student instruction, presentations and training opportunities, while the new outdoor space will promote student mental wellness and serve as an outdoor classroom to teach environmental management including botany and entomology observation.
The space was developed in consultation with Indigenous community leaders to incorporate Indigenous learning and cultural practices. The cultural arts centre will celebrate Indigenous histories, cultures, languages, traditional values and worldviews, and will feature programming that incorporates oral traditions and storytelling, land stewardship and resource management presentations, medicine wheel teachings and smudging. Programming will also include jigging, drumming, powwows and hand drum singing, the minister noted.
"As mayor, I'm proud to see this investment in Swan River Valley that strengthens both education and community," said Mayor Lance Jacobson, Swan River. "These new spaces will not only enrich student learning but also provide opportunities for cultural expression and collaboration that benefit the entire region."
The surrounding community will also be able to use the space, including Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation, the Swan River School of Dance and 4-H, the premier noted, adding that the Manitoba government invested nearly $200 million in school capital projects in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
