Think big and the world will come
Planning a new Vancouver Art Gallery is a rare opportunity to put the city on the international map
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 07, 2008
Do we think small, and save some money, or take a risk on creating a building the world will come to see? That's the question British Columbians now face with the decision to build a new Vancouver Art Gallery.
The answer should be a no-brainer. It's time for this young city, and the province, to open up its collective wallet and build a glamour building, an architectural statement that will put the city on the cultural map both nationally and internationally.
We should be aiming for something as significant as the Guggenheim in Bilbao, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, or the Sydney opera house.
These places, and many more, are what's known as destination architecture. They are edifices that are pieces of art unto themselves. They create their own tourism economies, attract major exhibitions and enhance the local arts.
Just such a glamour building -- which would cost upwards of $400 million -- appears to be what Premier Gordon Campbell is aiming for. While his decision Thursday to give the Vancouver Art Gallery $50-million to start looking for a new location is only a down payment on the cost of such an institution, the government's intent is that the money be used to hold an international architectural competition, to find a striking design for the new gallery. It's also meant to be the seed money to kick-start a multi-year fundraising drive.
"I'm sure they want to do a significant gallery," said Campbell, who has been supporting the idea for years. "It's really part of moving into a new phase as a city. This could easily become a symbol of the city around the world . . . . I think we have to raise our sights."
Even better is the prospect that this new institution will anchor a true cultural precinct for Vancouver, a city that has long relied on its geographical beauty to hide the reality that it is slow to embrace the arts.
One idea, the preferred, is that the new gallery should be built on the site of the old Greyhound bus terminal, not far from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Vancouver PlayHouse, the central library and the CBC headquarters.
A fallback would be revamping the old Canada Post office, similar to the Tate Modern Museum in London. A less likely location, but still worth considering, is the waterfront of False Creek, not far from the silver Expo 86 ball. That would put the art gallery near a revamped BC Place Stadium, which will be part of a major real-estate development that will revive what is now a dead zone in the heart of the city.
Wherever the new art gallery goes, what it all means is Vancouver is about to see the
biggest architectural transformation since the development of the Expo lands in the late 1980s and Coal Harbour in the late 1990s.
It's an exciting prospect.
But it's a transformation that also needs to involve the public: We need to guard against the sort of secrecy that surrounded the attempt to build a roof over Robson Square and stay away from the committee-think that turned our $1-billion convention centre into a ho-hum glass box that will never make a postcard.
Just as important as the outside of our new art gallery, though, is what goes on inside.
The idea is to at least double the square footage of the current art gallery to about 320,000 square feet. It will display B.C.'s traditional artists, but the collection would also see an expansion of works from aboriginal artists and contemporary stars, such as the internationally renowned photorealist Jeff Wall, whose pieces are generally too big -- and too expensive -- for the current gallery.
It's also now time to start thinking about what to do with the old art gallery, a landmark building that needs to be carefully preserved.
I'll bet the University of B.C., cognizant of Simon Fraser University's success in building a downtown campus, has its eye on moving in. But the smarter thing would be to use that landmark to bridge the cultural divide that still exists between this city's Asian and non-Asian communities: Turn the emptied art gallery into an Asia-Pacific museum and arts centre.
That would bring our Asia-Pacific reality into the heart of the city. With the right sort of curator, we could better brand Vancouver as an Asia-Pacific hub.
Now, for the really big question. How do we pay for all of this?
The reality is that this major building won't get underway until long after the 2010 Olympics are over. By then, we might have a tighter economy, perhaps even a new premier less enamoured of such a cultural megaproject.
So if this is going to happen, the fundraising needs to be a broad effort that begins now.
Campbell says he'll be going to the federal government for a share, since the intent is to create a national institution for all Canadians. The City of Vancouver is going to have to ante up, too, likely by handing over the land.
But there's also going to be a major push for private-sector investment. Those involved in discussions believe that a major part of the budget may come from building commercial office space, possibly a hotel and condos around a new gallery.
But British Columbians and other Canadians -- particularly the wealthiest -- are going to be asked to channel their philanthropic side. Campbell put it best: "I think there will be philanthropists from Canada, and internationally, who will step up."
He'll need to be right on that if this dream is to become a reality without leaving a very big bill for the taxpayer.
mcernetig@png.canwest.com
Building's future up in the air
As the Vancouver Art Gallery starts looking for a new home with a $50 million grant, most cultural mavens hope the heritage space in the heart of downtown remains part of the city's arts scene
Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 07, 2008
You could turn it into a giant Starbucks. Or a bordello if prostitution is legalized.
Or how about going back to the the future and using it as a court house.
You get plenty of quips when you talk to cultural mavens about the fate of the heritage building that currently houses Vancouver Art Gallery.
But most agree that the history, location and structure of the building adjacent to Robson Square make it a natural site for another museum or gallery.
"I think the best idea is to maintain it for museum purposes," said Michael Audain, a developer, art collector and chair of the Vancouver Art Gallery Foundation.
"It's a marvellous location and one of the most important buildings in the city. And the building's plaza has been active as a city square for demonstrations and celebrations for generations."
Bob Rennie, condo developer and art collector, said that "I think it should stay as a cultural property. We have to respect the history of that building."
Don Luxton of Heritage Vancouver said the building is "purpose-built for an art gallery and it would be expensive to turn it into another use."
"It's hard for me to comment," said VAG director Kathleen Bartels, when asked about the building's fate.
"It would be nice for some kind of cultural presence here but it won't be our decision."
The heritage stone building on Hornby Street has housed the VAG since 1983 after extensive renovations were done by architect Arthur Erickson.
The fate of the site will be determined by the provincial government, which owns the building, and the city of Vancouver, which leases it.
The building's future use could hinge on the strategic plan -- officially called the "Facilities Priorities Plan" -- being developed by the city for city-owned or city-leased cultural facilities, including the existing VAG building.
VAG director Bartels said the question of the site's future is one asked on a regular basis.
"That decision won't be the gallery's. It'll be the decision of the province. They own the building and they own the land. I know there are several competing interests -- I don't even know who they are."
Bartels said the city and the province are "getting calls on a regular basis ... from people who would like to take over the space."
Premier Gordon Campbell said that the building could remain a gallery.
"People have talked about it as potentially an aboriginal art gallery. Some people have talked about it as a potential Asia Pacific gallery."
The Vancouver Museum is also near the top of most observers' list of institutions that could make the stone building a home.
The Vancouver Museum currently resides in cramped and somewhat obscure quarters in Vanier Park.
Museum director Nancy Noble said that the facility has long considered moving to a new location in order to get more street and tourist traffic and more space for its collection.
The museum's future is one of the questions being discussed in the city of Vancouver's cultural strategic plan process, she added.
Noble said that a museum or gallery would be a "natural fit" for the VAG site.
"But I don't think there's any guarantee that if we wanted it (the VAG site) that we would get it."
dward@png.canwest.com
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