VANCOUVER – In order to fulfill a longstanding commitment, the Province of B.C. is putting an additional $50 million towards a new home for the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The new gallery, located at Larwill Park on Georgia Street, will be a multifaceted facility featuring a theatre, library and research centre, artist studios, child care, restaurants and retail space. There will be an Indigenous community space, along with five dedicated classrooms for specialized school programs and art instruction to serve more than 90,000 students annually, a release reads.
The project is expected to generate an estimated 3,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs.
Mass timber will be featured as part of the construction and the gallery will be the first Passive House art gallery in North America and will be the most environmentally sustainable art museum in Canada.
The release explains the building façade was designed through collaboration with Coast Salish artists Debra Sparrow, Skwetsimeltxw Willard (Buddy) Joseph, Hereditary Chief Chepximiya Siyam’ Janice George and Angela George, and Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, with Vancouver architects Perkins & Will.
“The exterior of the building is informed by a Coast Salish world view through consultation with Indigenous artists from the host Nations and reflects the gallery’s commitment to celebrating Indigenous art and advancing reconciliation in the province,” it continues.
In addition, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Chan Centre for the Visual Arts will optimize capacity for safe and efficient storage of works of art in the gallery’s permanent collection, including works by renowned Canadian artist Emily Carr.
This is the second investment by the province. In 2008, B.C. provided $50 million for a total investment of $100 million This project has received more than $190 million in private donations, including $100 million from the Audain Foundation in 2021 and $40 million from the Chan Foundation in 2019.
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