Whistler’s Audain Art Museum on pace to attract 55,000 visitors in first year
The first year has been a bit of an experiment for Whistler’s Audain Art Museum.
One of the challenges was figuring out how an art museum with a focus on an inner experience would fit into a resort dedicated to attracting international visitors interested in recreation and the outdoors.
Another had to do with how it would connect to the local community. Unlike most other public art galleries in Canada, the Audain museum didn’t have the kind of local links built up over years of civic meetings and fundraising events. It was given as a gift, a $43.5-million one, paid for entirely by philanthropist Michael Audain to house the collection of mostly B.C. art he and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa collected over many years.
Museum director Suzanne Greening said one of the things that is happening as expected is that the museum has become an attraction in its own right. Visitors are making the trek north to Whistler specifically to see the Audain Art Museum, designed by Vancouver’s Patkau Architects.
“What’s really exciting is that we are a destination,” she said. “People are coming up to see us.”
The big draw for people continues to be the museum’s permanent collection. If you want to see an Emily Carr, the Audain is the place to go. It has 24 Carr paintings on permanent display, more than anywhere else in Canada.
Its indigenous collection of historical masks and other works is unique. The collection includes contemporary First Nations works such as Jim Hart’s impressive The Dance Screen (The Scream Too).
A year later, the smell of cedar from the 4.7-metre-by-3.3-metre carving by the Haida artist still fills its exhibition room.
“We’re the only museum in Canada devoted to the art of a province,” Greening said.
The museum’s temporary exhibitions have ranged from highly crafted items such as the Ptarmigan Vase — which continues at the museum until 2019 — to fine-art paintings from the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in New Brunswick. One of the current exhibitions is drawings by Henri Matisse, curated by Ellsworth Kelly.
One experiment that didn’t work was extending operating hours beyond 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. That lasted until mid-July.
After dropping the late hours, the museum decided it should go through a full-year cycle to see who its audience is, where the challenges are and where it needs to devote attention, Greening said.
The museum decided to work on turning Thursday into an art night in Whistler by scheduling talks about once a month. One talk on the art of philanthropy by Audain and Bob Rennie, who built the Rennie Collection at Wing Sang in Chinatown, attracted 175 people.
One surprise has been the seasonal distribution of attendance, which should hit 55,000 in its first year. The museum has attracted more people during the summer, but fewer during the winter than expected.
During the summer, it’s easy to hop in the car and drive north along the scenic Sea to Sky Highway. In winter, you have to be prepared for snow.
“We’re finding getting Lower Mainland people up in the winter is a challenge because not everyone has snow tires,” Greening said.
One solution Greening is looking at is organizing a program that includes a regular art bus trip from Vancouver.
From the community’s point of view, the museum has been embraced. Starting from zero, the museum has built a base of 100 volunteers. They include 35 who are trained as docents, leading seven tours of 20 to 50 people a week.
The museum is also engaging with Whistler’s visual-arts community. In June, the museum will be the venue for an exhibition of work by Chili Thom, a local artist who died of cancer last year at age 40. Adult visitors will be able to see the Thom exhibition for free.
Mo Douglas, executive director of Arts Whistler, said the museum has become an important part of the cultural scene in the community.
The museum is now a link in the Cultural Connector pathway in Whistler Village. The pathway connects key cultural venues, such as the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, the Maury Young Arts Centre and the Whistler Museum.
“The Audain has been an amazing addition,” Douglas said in an interview. “What the Audain has done to cultural amenities is almost like what the Last Spike did for the Canadian Pacific Railway.”
While “the mountains own the winter” in Whistler, as Douglas said, the museum is part of making Whistler a more rounded four-season resort. It’s helping to attract a more diverse group of visitors who might not otherwise go to Whistler for outdoor activities.
“The Audain has been a really key part of establishing the kind of cultural strength that exists in Whistler,” she said. “It has helped elevate all of us.”
The museum is marking its first anniversary with a fundraising dinner and live auction on March 11 at the Westin Resort & Spa in Whistler. The event is sold out.