Presentation House Gallery Raises Funds for New Location

After more than 30 years of tight living in a shared heritage building, Presentation House Gallery has met its fundraising goals and is moving on to the next phase of their planned relocation.

A fundraising campaign to move to a new waterfront location began in 2014, with $6.5 million in private funding raised over the two-year campaign. This Friday (July 31) the federal government announced a $2.5 million contribution, matching funds already provided by the Province of British Columbia and the City of North Vancouver, for a total of $7.5M. Thanks to these generous donations the gallery can now begin construction on the facility, located on city-owned land at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue.

When it moves to the new building in 2017, in time for the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation, the gallery will become known as the Polygon Gallery. (Polygon Homes Ltd. provided the lead funding in partnership with the Audain Foundation.) Detailed images of the new building, designed by Patkau Architects, are available on the Presentation House Gallery's website. The new two-storey gallery will be triple the size of the previous gallery, and will include a gift shop, café, and exhibition and education space. It will feature 4,000 square feet of exhibition space, plus space for classes and lectures.

"This funding will help Polygon achieve its goal of nearly tripling its space with an iconic new facility right here on North Vancouver’s scenic shoreline,” said Andrew Saxton, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver. “This renowned gallery will be a pivotal institution in the revitalization of our waterfront, and it is through projects like this that our Government remains committed to improving spaces and access to the arts for all Canadians.”

The Presentation House Theatre will remain in their current location, a former school that was opened as the Presentation House Cultural Centre in 1976 by then prime minister Pierre Trudeau.