New Vancouver Art Gallery | Proposed

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Seems pretty far along to me? A few rich donors away from making it happen. Those big egos always want to be the one that made it possible.

Don't forget to add another $100M in contingency for expected cost overruns etc.

[s211]

The only way they'd get a donation from me would be if they dropped the design and started over.

[Klazu]

The one-storey podium building encircling the perimeter looks odd to me. I do like the use of wood everywhere but overall am not a fan of this building.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by whatnext

It is bizarre how the city's planners seem hellbent on turning huge swathes of the metro population from visiting downtown Vancouver.

You noticed that too huh? Certainly appears to be a priority for whatever bizarre unicorn reason. Let’s hope that downtown residents visit this place over and over again to keep the place afloat

[CivicBlues]

So this place is going to be called the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts? Not Vancouver Art Gallery? And we have the Chan Centre for Performing Arts. No that's not going to be confusing at all...

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

So this place is going to be called the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts? Not Vancouver Art Gallery? And we have the Chan Centre for Performing Arts. No that's not going to be confusing at all...

..The new building, which will be called the Vancouver Art Gallery at the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts, will have a multi-purpose Indigenous Community House, a theatre, public art spaces, and programming for marginalized and underserved groups....

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-art-gallery-federal-funding-29-million

Bravo to the Chans for stepping up to fund two cultural institutions. Would that everyone with the same wealth were as generous.

[djh]

Originally Posted by whatnext

..The new building, which will be called the Vancouver Art Gallery at the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts, will have a multi-purpose Indigenous Community House, a theatre, public art spaces, and programming for marginalized and underserved groups....

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-art-gallery-federal-funding-29-million

Bravo to the Chans for stepping up to fund two cultural institutions. Would that everyone with the same wealth were as generous.

Ugh.

No person or organisation, no matter how much they "donate", should be able to pay for their name to be permanently attached to a public building. It literally enforces the trope that "money buys influence", always looks tacky and often convoluted (e.g., "Science World at the Telus World of Science"...), and ultimately nobody remembers the name so it's not helping build a positive brand association with whoever slapped their dollars on the table

Are we heading the way of the US, with cheesy names attached to our meeting places? The Crypto.com Arena? The Whataburger Field?!

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by djh

Ugh.

No person or organisation, no matter how much they "donate", should be able to pay for their name to be permanently attached to a public building. It literally enforces the trope that "money buys influence", always looks tacky and often convoluted (e.g., "Science World at the Telus World of Science"...), and ultimately nobody remembers the name so it's not helping build a positive brand association with whoever slapped their dollars on the table

Are we heading the way of the US, with cheesy names attached to our meeting places? The Crypto.com Arena? The Whataburger Field?!

Heading there? Have you ever been to Rogers Arena (GM Place)? Save On Foods Centre (Victoria)?

Ron.

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by whatnext

..The new building, which will be called the Vancouver Art Gallery at the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts, will have a multi-purpose Indigenous Community House, a theatre, public art spaces, and programming for marginalized and underserved groups....

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-art-gallery-federal-funding-29-million

Bravo to the Chans for stepping up to fund two cultural institutions. Would that everyone with the same wealth were as generous.

...or they could not just stick their name on buildings and get a nice plaque installed instead, or at least mix it up a bit

"I'm going to the Chan Centre"

"Which one?"

No one fucking says "Chan Centre for the Performing Arts" in its entirety right now.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

...or they could not just stick their name on buildings and get a nice plaque installed instead, or at least mix it up a bit

"I'm going to the Chan Centre"

"Which one?"

No one fucking says "Chan Centre for the Performing Arts" in its entirety right now.

For $40 million they get what they request. Better that than not getting the gallery at all. I suspect most people will just say the Vancouver Art Gallery. Nobody refers to the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, they just say the Stanley Theatre.

[djh]

When a structure has what appears to sound like a surname, due to Western naming precedents we tend to not be distracted by it so much (e.g., the Chrysler Building, the Eiffel Tower, or the Rogers Tower -> the Rogers Centre). So we gradually grow used to those names. And some very old buildings get away with it because their name has been around so long, or is just highly-associated with the building, or the name is innocuous (e.g., the C.N. Tower, or Taj Mahal).

But taking a structure that already has a tightly-bound name, like the "Art Gallery", and trying to stick your name onto it, always comes across as trying to leverage the reputation of one brand to your crappy brand. This example just cheapens the Art Gallery and makes the Chan name look mercenary.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by djh

When a structure has what appears to sound like a surname, due to Western naming precedents we tend to not be distracted by it so much (e.g., the Chrysler Building, the Eiffel Tower, or the Rogers Tower -> the Rogers Centre). So we gradually grow used to those names. And some very old buildings get away with it because their name has been around so long, or is just highly-associated with the building, or the name is innocuous (e.g., the C.N. Tower, or Taj Mahal).

But taking a structure that already has a tightly-bound name, like the "Art Gallery", and trying to stick your name onto it, always comes across as trying to leverage the reputation of one brand to your crappy brand. This example just cheapens the Art Gallery and makes the Chan name look mercenary.

But it is a new structure...

[FarmerHaight]

Names of public places aren't worth fighting over. Everyone will shorten the name anyways, and I would much rather have a gallery built with a cringe-worthy name (not sure this is that though) than not built at all.

Sure, it would be nice if everyone just gave away money without expecting anything in return. Yet we still have park benches with plaques, Patreon supporters on YouTube video credits, and corporate names on sports facilities. It really is NBD.

[Migrant_Coconut]

I do wish they'd have gone with a less clunky name. Would it have killed them to go with "The Chan Foundation's Vancouver Art Gallery" or something like that?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by djh

When a structure has what appears to sound like a surname, due to Western naming precedents we tend to not be distracted by it so much (e.g., the Chrysler Building, the Eiffel Tower, or the Rogers Tower -> the Rogers Centre). So we gradually grow used to those names. And some very old buildings get away with it because their name has been around so long, or is just highly-associated with the building, or the name is innocuous (e.g., the C.N. Tower, or Taj Mahal).

But taking a structure that already has a tightly-bound name, like the "Art Gallery", and trying to stick your name onto it, always comes across as trying to leverage the reputation of one brand to your crappy brand. This example just cheapens the Art Gallery and makes the Chan name look mercenary.

Do people really feel that way when they say The Guggenheim or or The Broad?

[officedweller]

I don't like the triple barrelled names, etc. either, especially when there is no "centre" or "complex" and it's really just one building.

Ultimately, I think it would have been better to have a Chan "Wing/Floor" or "Exhibit Hall" at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I think that was how it was done before the current spate of endlessly long names.

Another example is "Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place" (named after Sir Run Run Shaw, not the cable company). It seems a bit ridiculous for a one tower complex (the only other building is the small museum on the plaza).

[a very long weekend]

Just ask for another $100m to get it build and then rename it to the Chan Museum.

[djmk]

it's being reported that the BC gov't will make an announcement regarding the VAG tomorrow.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-art-gallery-bc-government-announcement

[wabooba]

Great that the new gallery is getting the go-ahead, but I am still concerned about how the current Rattenbury-designed building will be put to use.
I'd love to see it made into a great institute of music, with a chamber-music concert hall under the plaza (with a glass dome to let in light), recital rooms, music theory, and teaching rooms in the building itself.

However, excuse me, that's off-topic, and virtually impossible in Vancouver anyway. But yes, hurray for the upcoming new gallery.
It has the potential of being a great addition to the city, if they can get some substantial art displays in there.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by djmk

it's being reported that the BC gov't will make an announcement regarding the VAG tomorrow.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-art-gallery-bc-government-announcement

Maybe they're getting the money Horgan was going to give for a new RBCM in Victoria.