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Art museum would draw visitors

Vancouver developer Michael Audain gives more insight on plans to house B.C. art here
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NEXT STEPS - Famed developer and art collector Michael Audain signed an MOU with the Resort Municipality of Whistler regarding the new art museum he hopes to build here. Photo by Brad Kasselman www.coastphoto.com

In all my years this is one of the most exciting documents I've ever signed," said Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden.

"Me too," replied Michael Audain.

The quiet exchange between the pair on Dec. 18 capped off the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the new Audain Art Museum and summed up the all-around sentiment to a tee.

It reveals just how enthusiastic Whistler is about the project as well as Michael Audain himself.

"It was completely unexpected, unanticipated and yet it's exactly in line with what our goals and objectives are," said Wilhelm-Morden later.

The tall Vancouver developer, art collector and philanthropist cut an imposing figure in council chambers at the last public meeting of council in 2012 as he took the microphone, speaking to the community for first time since he revealed his plans this fall to build a museum here to house his private collection — one of the best in Canada.

"Thank you for making the land available because without an appropriate site we couldn't do anything," said Audain, another revelation of how Whistler has pulled out all the stops including offering free municipal land, to make this happen.

Parts of Audain's art collection flashed up on the large TV screen as the MOU was signed, a tantalizing hint of what's coming to town.

The evening, and all it signified, is perhaps the icing on the cake for council as it bids farewell to its first full year in office.

Wilhelm-Morden touched briefly on some of the achievements of the past year that night.

The list is nothing the community hasn't heard before. But delivered together it reveals just how much has been accomplished in 2012.

The mayor mentioned the creation of the Council Action Plan, a high level list of council's priorities; the new Corporate Plan, outlining the work and priorities of the government; the re-invigoration of the committee system where much of the nitty-gritty work of the day is getting done at the hall from finance and audit to recreation and leisure. Council also established new committees — namely the Festival, Events and Animation Oversight Committee and the Economic Partnerships Initiatives — to help guide future difficult decisions.

Its first budget in 2012 had zero property tax increases. And there were the early decisions this term to scrap pay parking in Lots 4 and 5, keeping it just in Lots 1, 2 and 3, and to tackle the prolific illegal space issue in the resort.

"It really has been an exhilarating year this year," said the mayor.

There was also the news the Ironman is relocating to Whistler for five years, said the mayor in the same breath mentioning the great success of one of the best Whistler Film Festivals this fall.

And just this last week the mayor officially opened the permanent ice rink in the middle of the village, the fruits of yet another council decision to pump capital money into that project.

"It's just been one very exciting event after another," she said.

The Audain Art Musuem, however, is something different, a multi-million dollar private investment in Whistler that will enhance the cultural landscape of the town.

"It will be another reason to come to Whistler, another reason to come back to Whistler," said the mayor.

"We know that Michael and Yoshi (Audain's wife who was in the audience) could have chosen another community," added the mayor at the meeting. "We are so pleased and proud that you have chosen Whistler."

And while Audain recognized that Whistler will always be seen as an outdoor community he added:

"(I) respect your interest in broadening the field of the community.

"The site that you've kindly offered us in Whistler really makes an awful lot of sense."

Audain also revealed more about the art itself, a collection that has been amassed over several decades.

He has one of the finest collections of First Nations masks, for example.

"No private individual has a collection of this quality; this is what I'm told by the experts," he smiled.

And then there's his collection by one of Canada's most famous women, Emily Carr.

Audain has the most extensive collection of any private person.

He also talked of his important holdings of the post war artists, BC Modernists as they are known, like E.J. Hughes and Gordon Smith.

Many will be calling Whistler home within the next two years if all goes to plan.

The details of the arrangement are set out in the five-page Memorandum of Understanding.

Whistler has agreed to grant a lease for the 1.2-hectare land opposite municipal hall, in between parking lot 3 and 4, for $1, for a term of 199 years.

It has also agreed to consider giving the Audain Art Museum, a registered non-profit, a ten year permissive property tax exemption in much the same way it does for day cares, churches, and the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre.

It will consider granting relief from municipal works and services charges and waive building permit fees and rezoning and development permit fees.

The municipality must relocate the satellite public works yard use from the area and remove the existing trailer next to Blackcomb Way.

The Audain Art Museum, on the other hand, will pay for all the capital costs for the construction of the museum and its ongoing operating costs.

It will design and build the museum, keeping in line with Whistler's interest for night-sky friendly requirements and providing public pedestrian access through the site.

The mayor painted a picture of what's to come: imagine, she said, waking up in the morning, having a coffee, reading the newspaper and then going to have a look at a couple of Emily Carrs.

She added: "Just imagine our children growing up and being able to visit this gallery."

Go to www.piquenewsmagazine.com for a gallery of some of the art that could be housed in the new art museum.