The talk of a new Vancouver Art Gallery has been going on for a while now. The City of Vancouver is now formally backing the bid to move the art gallery to a new and much larger location.
The discussion of a moving the art gallery has been a heated one. It has also lead to few unsolicited proposals. One such proposal called for a new art gallery in place of the current Granville Loops at the north end of the Granville Street Bridge. Another proposal featured 4 satellite locations. This proposal included keeping the original location with a satellite location in Gastown, Stanley Park and under the Granville Bridge.
Here is the official statement from the Mayor’s office:
After an extensive review process involving city staff and an expert panel of local and international arts leaders, Mayor Gregor Robertson is announcing his support for a new, innovative and expanded Vancouver Art Gallery on the City-owned site at 688 Cambie, formerly known as Larwill Park.
“A new, expanded art gallery at Larwill Park is a huge opportunity to bolster our creative sector, showcase local artists from Vancouver and across BC, and make a clear statement that Vancouver makes arts and culture a priority,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson.
“We’ve done a lot of work to support the arts in recent years, but this has the potential to really elevate our creative economy to the next level. I hope that all of City Council will support the recommendation.”
The recommendation for a new Vancouver Art Gallery will be considered at next week’s City Council meeting. The new purpose-built Art Gallery would feature more than double the area available for exhibition space and triple the area available for education space.
The staff recommendation also includes a creative proposal to close a portion of the adjacent block of Cambie Street between Dunsmuir and Georgia, enabling a unique opportunity for a new public space in downtown Vancouver.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is the largest public art museum in western Canada and is recognized internationally as a centre for contemporary art, with the Gallery’s permanent art collection held for the citizens of Vancouver.
Image via The Mat
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