New Vancouver Art Gallery | Proposed

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Who says museums have to be about "high culture"? One of my TO favourites is the Bata Shoe Museum. For example we could have a museum of the lumber industry, which built modern Vancouver.

Who, where, why, and for how many visitors? As it is, Britannia Mine considers 75k to be "record attendance."

I've made my preference for the next museum pretty clear... I've also resigned myself to the fact that we don't have a millionaire with a giant fossil collection.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Right. It's a great idea to have a target for old growth logging protests.

The hint is in the title of the shoe museum, it was established by a shoe company.

Nothing stopped Macmillan Bloedel establishing a museum, but the didn't. It would then have become the Weyerhauser Museum, and then closed down and moved out of the city, if it followed the lumber industry arc. It's a shame, because they could have had a display explaining how clearcutting areas near Prince George to turn into pellets to burn in UK power station is 'green'.

There's a museum on the history of logging in Powell River. Where the mill finally closed this year.

Yes, by all means, let’s cater to the wishes of the lowest denominator of eco-weenie. And of course, the Woke are masters of the “let’s just indulge in self-flagellation over history we disagree with”. Perhaps a museum for the sanctimonious bores who chain themselves to stuff for their cause du jour.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yes, by all means, let’s cater to the wishes of the lowest denominator of eco-weenie. And of course, the Woke are masters of the “let’s just indulge in self-flagellation over history we disagree with”. Perhaps a museum for the sanctimonious bores who chain themselves to stuff for their cause du jour.

Not a bad idea. Home of Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation, second earliest Canadian electric transit (Nelson beat us by 6 months), early designers of mass-timber buildings, net-zero Olympic housing. There could be a panel about the 'asleep' who denied climate change, objected to higher density housing and generally looked backwards rather than forwards. 'Regressives', perhaps?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Not a bad idea. Home of Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation, second earliest Canadian electric transit (Nelson beat us by 6 months), early designers of mass-timber buildings, net-zero Olympic housing. There could be a panel about the 'asleep' who denied climate change, objected to higher density housing and generally looked backwards rather than forwards. 'Regressives', perhaps?

Perhaps Suzuki can house it in one of the multiple homes he owns around the globe. One or two must be in Vancouver…

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Perhaps Suzuki can house it in one of the multiple homes he owns around the globe. One or two must be in Vancouver…

Ten years ago he had two properties in Kitsilano, (one the house he bought in the 1970s) and two pieces of land on BC islands, which wouldn't seem to be ideal locations for a museum. I see you are a follower of Ezra Lavant?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Getting back on topic: will they finally raise enough money before or after the Broadway extension opens? Place your bets.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Getting back on topic: will they finally raise enough money before or after the Broadway extension opens? Place your bets.

Well, let's see. Their fundraising goal from private sources was $150 million and they have that. Of course, most of that came from just two sources who often step up: Michael Audain $100 million and the Chan Family at $40 million.

BC has just kicked in more for a total of $100 million and the Feds have pledged $29.3 million. That would seem to leave them short of the $400 million of the original estimate, though as others have pointed out that figure might not even be adequate now. So I go with the Broadway line for the win.

[WarrenC12]

They are $80M short, although I wonder if their development budget has gone up, I don't see how it couldn't.

Somebody with money and a big ego, and maybe who feels like a winner now, will buck up and get the recognition of the final donor to seal the deal.

Somebody who's name rhymes with dip.

[TwoFace]

Chip Wilson has been stepping up lately donating hundreds of millions to some great causes, another 80M wouldn't be a big deal.

[svlt]

Still not a drop in the bucket even for him, he'd likely want some big name recognition for it.

[whatnext]

I had to laugh reading this on the first page of this thread!


Crunch time is the spring, when the Vancouver Art Gallery will make a formal request to Vancouver council to move to a new site. If it's approved, it might open by 2013.

[Migrant_Coconut]

We were promised a SkyTrain to UBC by 2014. It's not coming any time soon... but it's coming. Eventually.

[whatnext]

I see the fancy new restaurant in the current gallery is down to just being open 10am to 4pm. That must have been a really successful foray into fine dining.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I see the fancy new restaurant in the current gallery is down to just being open 10am to 4pm. That must have been a really successful foray into fine dining.

Do I detect sarcasm in your post?

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I see the fancy new restaurant in the current gallery is down to just being open 10am to 4pm. That must have been a really successful foray into fine dining.

Do I detect sarcasm in your post? If I misinterpreted it, what does it mean?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Do I detect sarcasm in your post? If I misinterpreted it, what does it mean?

It means that kicking out the previous operator in favour of something customers clearly didn’t want was a mistake.

[djh]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I had to laugh reading this on the first page of this thread!


Crunch time is the spring, when the Vancouver Art Gallery will make a formal request to Vancouver council to move to a new site. If it's approved, it might open by 2013.

Oh, that was a fun trip down memory lane, on the first page of this thread...

Interestingly, none of the cultural projects that the Vancouver Sun listed there as being imminent have even occurred yet...and that was written in 2007
(new Art Gallery, new Vancouver Museum, new Vancouver Maritime Museum/National Maritime Museum).

There's definitely a shortage of investment in improving cultural institutions in this city from the government's perspective. How in 16 years can none of these projects have progressed yet - and in each case the city or province already owns the land!

[Migrant_Coconut]

The province did try to rebuild the Royal BC Museum, but partisan politics meant that it didn't go anywhere.

[svlt]

I don't think it was partisan when the price tag really seemed out of touch with the current economic realities. If they presented something that was substantially cut back in costs it would be more palatable and more importantly less newsworthy

[mcj]

Originally Posted by svlt

I don't think it was partisan when the price tag really seemed out of touch with the current economic realities. If they presented something that was substantially cut back in costs it would be more palatable and more importantly less newsworthy

Wasn't the price tag appropriate for the scope? Building a world class museum isn't cheap

But yeah politically, the price tag was shocking since most people see "billion" and "museum" and don't have an understanding on contemporary costs for large projects and the inflationary pressures on them in recent years. Didn't help that the opposition wanted to use this as a gotcha to drive home their propaganda that the governing party wastes money.