Emily Carr University of Art + Design announced March 7 that philanthropist, art collector and Polygon chairman Michael Audain is donating $5 million through his Audain Foundation to create the Audain School of Visual Arts at the university’s planned new campus along Great Northern Way.
The provincial government last month announced that it was investing $113 million to help build the new facility that is expected to cost $134 million.
The university and donors are expected to make up the $21 million gap in funding, and Audain’s gift is the first large donation, Emily Carr spokeswoman Roxanne Toronto told Business in Vancouver.
“We’re just kicking off our capital campaign,” she said.
Toronto said the new Audain School of Visual Arts will essentially be a rebranding of the current Faculty of Visual Art + Material Practice.
“Emily Carr University of Art + Design is indisputably the best art school in Canada and a major reason why Vancouver has become such an internationally important centre for visual arts over the last few decades,” said Audain in a press release.
“With this grant from our family foundation, I'm helping to kick off Emily Carr University's capital campaign. We hope that individuals and businesses quickly climb aboard with their support.”
The university will construct and move to a new facility on the 18-acre Great Northern Way Campus, which it jointly owns with Simon Fraser University, the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the University of British Columbia.
Construction is slated to begin in May 2014 and be completed by July 2016.
The university’s original Granville Island campus was designed for 800 students but now operates with 1,800 students. The move is expected to help the institution grow and stay competitive.
This is not the first gift that Audain has given the art school.
Last year, he committed to give $370,000 to establish the Audain Distinguished Artist in Residence Program, which is slated to launch in the fall.
That program aims to bring international artists to the campus and pay for their expenses.
