The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is receiving a $100 million donation from the Audain Foundation, to support the creation of a new building in downtown Vancouver. This is the largest single cash gift to an art gallery in Canadian history.

“We hope the splendid new building will work well to exhibit the work of our leading artists as well as introduce youngsters to the wonders of art. Vancouver has been good to our family, so we are thrilled to have this opportunity to join the City of Vancouver, the B.C. government, the Chan family, and many other generous donors in making this important project a reality,” said Michael Audain, chairman of the Audain Foundation.

The VAG has been planning, for more than a decade, to move to a new site. The Vancouver Art Gallery at the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts will be located between Cambie and Beatty streets, with a front entrance on Georgia Street, in downtown Vancouver. It will include more than 80,000 square feet of exhibition space, more than double the existing space

The building is being designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron together with Vancouver architects Perkins & Will, in consultation with Coast Salish artists. This consultation is reflected in the building’s design and its use of sustainable practices. The new Gallery will be the first Passive House art gallery in North America, a voluntary standard for energy efficiency which significantly reduces the building’s ecological footprint.

“We are very grateful for this gift from the Audain Foundation which brings us significantly closer to reaching our goal,” says Anthony Kiendl, CEO and director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “Our objective is to raise an additional $160 million from the private and public sectors — and we hope this historic donation will encourage others in our community and across the country to support our vision.”