Audain Art Museum

The Audain Art Museum is a 56,000-square-foot private museum located in Whistler, British Columbia, housing the private art collection of Michael Audain.[1] Designed by Patkau Architects and opened to the public in 2016, it holds a comprehensive permanent collection of British Columbian art.[2]

Design

The site is moderately forested, consisting of mature spruce and cedar trees.[3] During the initial phase of construction, only one tree was removed in an effort to preserve the site's ecology.[3] The museum's main entrance is accessible by bridge, connecting the site to Blackcomb Way.[4] The intention of the design was to blend the building into the existing site; Michael Audain explains that the cladding “is an intentionally recessive colour—it recedes into the shadows, and that’s our view of the appropriate relationship between it and the context”.[3]

John Patkau, Principal of Patkau Architects, describes the museum's design as being shaped by three prominent factors.[4] Firstly, its function as a gallery, housing both the permanent collection of Michael Audain in juxtaposition with temporary exhibits, changing intermittently.[4] Second, the challenging site, located within the Fitzsimmons Creek floodplain, poses a flood risk on-site.[4] Lastly, the enormous amount of snowfall that Whistler receives annually, which influenced the structure of the museum.[4]

Accolades
  • 2017 Wood Design Honor Award[5]
  • 2017 AIBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Medal in Architecture[6]
  • 2017 Azure AZ Award[7]
  • 2017 Canadian Wood Council Design Award[8]
  • 2018 RIBA Award for International Excellence[9]
  • 2018 Governor General's Medal in Architecture[10]
  • 2018 AIA Award - Architecture[11]

Construction

Timeline
  • September 21, 2012: Michael Audain visits Whistler to choose a site.[12]
  • December 9, 2012: Michael Audain enters an agreement with the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to build a 25,000-square-foot museum to house a portion of his British Columbia art collection.[13]
  • April 30, 2013: Michael Audain announces his decision to expand the art museum to 56,000-square-feet.[14]
  • August, 2013: Construction begins on site at 4350 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC.
  • March 12, 2016: The Audain Art Museum opens to the public.[15]

Structure

The museum, located at the base of the Whistler Mountain, is suspended one full storey above ground in response to site within the Fitzsimmons Creek floodplain. The 145-meter-long, elbow-shaped structure is suspended upon seven piers as its foundation system.[16] The primary structure's three-dimensional bridge-like steel frame spans between the piers and is mostly concealed. The floor diaphragms consist primarily of reinforced concrete supported by a steel deck, while the roof structure consists of pre-fabricated long-span engineered wood panels. The use of a single concrete core, located at the elbow joint, provides lateral load resistance in the longitudinal direction, while a series of transverse steel frames, equipped with high ductility connectors are used for the first time in a real-life application, providing transverse load resistance. The use of these complex hybrid steel/concrete structural systems provide sufficient rigidity for the structure to achieve its long interior spans and dramatic cantilevers.[17]

Permanent collection

The Audain Art Museum displays a Permanent Collection of nearly 200 works of art, visually highlighting a historic journey of art from coastal British Columbia.[18] The works span from the 18th century to the modern era and present day, containing one of the finest preserved collections of Northwest Coast First Nations masks; a large collection of works by Emily Carr, encompassing all periods of her artistic career; as well as art by important post-war modernists such as E.J. Hughes, Gordon Smith and Jack Shadbolt.[18] In addition to these historical works, the Collection showcases art by internationally renowned contemporary British Columbia artists including Jeff Wall, Dana Claxton, Marianne Nicolson, Rodney Graham and Stan Douglas, among others.[18]

Accessibility

The Audain Art Museum prioritizes the accessibility of art to all, with all public areas being wheelchair accessible for members of the public with limited mobility.[19]

Past exhibitions

Since its inception, the Audain Art Museum has hosted numerous temporary exhibitions, displaying a variety of art works.[20]

  • January 21 – May 22, 2017 Fred Herzog: Shadowlands.
  • June 10 – October 16, 2017 Edward Burtynsky: The Scarred Earth.
  • March 9 – April 9, 2018 Shawn Hunt: Transformation.
  • March 30 – June 11, 2018 Beau Dick: Revolutionary Spirit.[21]
  • June 30 – September 17, 2018 POP.
  • October 6 – January 28, 2019 Ancestral Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan & Levi Collection.
  • February 16 – May 6, 2019 Tales of an Empty Cabin: Somebody Nobody Was…
  • May 18 – August 26, 2019 Artistry Revealed: Peter Whyte, Catharine Robb Whyte and Their Contemporaries.
  • September 21 – January 20, 2020 Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing – French Modernism and the West Coast.[22]
  • February 8 – October 18, 2020 The Extended Moment: Fifty Years of Collecting Photographs.
  • June 10 – September 6, 2021 Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to the Silence.[23]
  • October 23, 2021 – February 21, 2022 Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and Indigenous Cultures.[24]
  • April 2 – August 14, 2022 Wolves: The Art of Dempsey Bob.[25]

Governance

The Audain Art Museum is incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, effective October 4, 2012, and is a Registered Charity.[26] The Museum's Board of Trustees serves as its governing body.[26]

References
  1. Canadian Architect. "Governor General's Medal Winner: Audain Art Museum." Canadian Architect. May 02, 2019. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/audain-art-museum/.
  2. "Vision." Audain Art Museum. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://audainartmuseum.com/vision/.
  3. "New Audain Art Museum Finds a Fitting Forest Setting." The Georgia Straight. March 11, 2016. Accessed April 02, 2021. https://www.straight.com/arts/652236/new-audain-art-museum-finds-fitting-forest-setting.
  4. "Architecture." Audain Art Museum. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://audainartmuseum.com/architecture/.
  5. "Feast Your Eyes on the 2017 Wood Design & Building Award Winning Projects." Archinect. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://archinect.com/news/bustler/6240/feast-your-eyes-on-the-2017-wood-design-building-award-winning-projects.
  6. "2017 Recipients." Architectural Awards. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://awards.aibc.ca/award-recipients/2017-recipients/.
  7. "2017 AZ Awards Winner: Architecture Over 1,000 Square Metres." Azure Magazine. June 06, 2019. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/2017-az-awards-winner-architecture-over-1000-square-metres/.
  8. "Awarding Excellence in Wood Architecture and Design." Canadian Wood Council. January 17, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://cwc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Press-Release-Awarding-Excellence-in-Wood-Architecture-and-Design.pdf.
  9. Canadian Architect. "Audain Art Museum a Canadian Winner at 2018 RIBA International Award." Canadian Architect. September 12, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/audain-museum-canadian-winner-2018-riba-international-prize/.
  10. "Audain Art Museum Wins a Governor General's Medal in Architecture." The Georgia Straight. May 07, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://www.straight.com/arts/1071336/audain-art-museum-wins-governor-generals-medal-architecture.
  11. "Audain Art Museum Wins 2018 AIA Award - REMI Network." REMINET. January 16, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://www.reminetwork.com/articles/audain-art-museum-wins-2018-aia-award/.
  12. "Vision | Whistler, BC".
  13. "Art Collector Michael Audain signs Memorandum of Understanding with RMOW for new art museum" Pique Newsmagazine. 19 December 2012. https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler-news/art-collector-michael-audain-signs-memorandum-of-understanding-with-rmow-for-new-art-museum-2492613
  14. https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-arts/audain-museum-plans-double-in-size-2493606; https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler-news/audain-art-museum-doubles-in-size-in-new-proposal-2493641
  15. Baker, R. "Whistler's Audain Museum Opens to the Public" CBC News. 3 March 2016. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/whistlers-audain-art-museum-opens-to-the-public-1.3475154
  16. Karsh, J.E. & I. Danzig (2017). "The Audain Art Museum in Whistler, BC, Canada." Structural Engineering International 27:1, 59-62.
  17. Griffin, Kevin. "Audain Art Museum in Whistler Designed to Be a Supportive Environment for Art." Vancouver Sun. April 07, 2016. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/audain-art-museum-designed-to-be-a-supportive-environment-for-art.
  18. "Collection." Audain Art Museum. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://audainartmuseum.com/collection/#/.
  19. AMI: Accessible Media Inc. Performed by Grant Hardy. Audain Art Museum. February 17, 2017. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3wu5MzdWPE.
  20. "Past Exhibitions." Audain Art Museum. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://audainartmuseum.com/past-exhibitions/.
  21. Barsky, J. et al. (2018). Beau Dick: Revolutionary Spirit. Vancouver: Figure 1.
  22. Watanabe, K. et al. (2019). Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing. Vancouver: Figure 1.
  23. Campbell, N. et al. (2019). Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to the Silence. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions.
  24. Roy, A. et al. (2020). Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and Indigenous Cultures. Milan: 5 Continents.
  25. Milroy, S. (ed.) (2022). Dempsey Bob: In His Own Voice. Vancouver: Figure 1.
  26. "Governance." Audain Art Museum. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://audainartmuseum.com/governance/.
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