Vancouver Art Gallery Announces $40 Million Gift, Unveils Design for New Building

A design illustration of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s projected new building, Chan Centre for the Visual Arts. | Image: Vancouver Art Gallery.

The Vancouver Art Gallery announced January 23 that it has received a $40 million gift toward its new building from arts and culture philanthropists the Chan Family. The gift will be put toward the development of the new building, which will be named Chan Centre for the Visual Arts and is projected to be complete in 2023. The Gallery also unveiled the design of the building, which will be constructed on the current Larwill Park (688 Cambie St). The announcements were made in Vancouver, with representatives of the Gallery, the Chan Family, and architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron present, alongside Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and representatives from City Council.

The $40 million gifted by the Chan Family will be added to the existing $45 million already raised in private support, along with the initial investment of $50 million from the Province of British Columbia, bringing the total funding secured to $135 million. The Gallery has been working to raise $100 million from the private sector.

Among its amenities, the 300,000 square foot building will feature community spaces, a 350-seat theatre, free-access galleries, complementary admission programs and a publicly accessible Resource Centre Library and archives.

Chan Family representative Christian Chan said that he hoped the space would “provide an equal opportunity for all people to nourish a healthier mind, body and soul.”

[Update 01/24/2019: The new building will be located in Larwill Park, and not šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square as originally stated. We apologize for this error.]