Our Mission
The St. Norbert Arts Centre is a diverse community dedicated to the cultural, environmental, and spiritual preservation of its home—the historic Trappist Monastery site located in St. Norbert, Manitoba.
Its mission is to promote Earth, Spirit, and Culture.
The Setting
The St. Norbert Arts Centre makes its graceful home on a spacious country lot surrounded on three sides by the historic La Salle River (La Rivière Sale) near St. Norbert. Though the facility is just minutes from the city of Winnipeg, the site exudes the same sense of calm and seclusion as when the Trappist monks lived here. Many features of the monastery remain: a mature deciduous forest extending throughout the grounds and along the riverbanks, a fruit orchard, several vegetable and flower gardens. Most significantly--the extraordinary remains of the tyndall stone chapel and monastery, “The Ruins.” The Ruins are located on adjacent provincial park land which adds eight acres the St. Norbert Arts Centre’s five.
The Centre’s offices and residence are located in the beautiful 17,000 square foot turn-of-the-century Guest House. Built by the Trappist monks in 1912 for their guests, the three-storey French Provincial structure features a stone foundation, mansard roof, hardwood floors, twelve-foot ceilings and dormer windows. The Guest House has been declared a provincial and municipal historic site, and has undergone over a million dollars’ worth of renovation and revitalization.
The Facility
Since its establishment in 1991, the St. Norbert Arts Centre has become a cultural, historical and recreational focal point for people from all walks of life and locales. Its seclusion allows for quiet contemplation and respite from the busy urban environment.
The adjacent provincial park--with its monastic ruins, river banks, mature forest, wild animals and birds, open meadows and gardens--is ideal for picnicking, jogging, cross-country skiing, canoeing, historic study, photography and nature walks.
Inside the Guest House, a 1,200 square-foot presentation room on the main floor is used for public exhibitions, performances, meetings and lectures. All Guest House facilities are fully wheelchair accessible. The grounds and Ruins are wheelchair accessible with some assistance.
