Gibson Art Museum construction progresses; design earns national recognition

Thanks to the tremendous generosity of SFU donors and outstanding community support, construction on the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum is well underway. Set to open in 2025, the project is already beginning to transform the landscape of the university’s Burnaby campus.

A new type of hub for arts and culture

The Gibson Art Museum will be situated upon unceded territories of the x?m?θkw?y??m, Skwxwú7mesh, S?l?ílw?ta?, and k?ik?????m Nations, and located adjacent to Burnaby Mountain’s main transit loop, steps from the new First People’s Gathering House, Trottier Observatory and the anticipated Burnaby Mountain Gondola.

The museum offers 12,000 square feet of space, with free exhibits and public programming for SFU and neighbouring communities, and all who are interested in exploring and making connections through art.

Gibson nets national architectural award

We are thrilled to share that in December 2023, Hariri Pontarini Architects and Iredale Architecture won a prestigious Canadian Architect Award of Merit for their designs for the museum. Canadian Architect, the national magazine for architects across Canada, hosted a reception in Toronto this past January to celebrate and honor recipients.

Jurors for the award praised the Gibson’s “simple and refined approach to museum design” which “creates relationships with the landscape at varying scales and proportions.” Read more about the award and jurors’ evaluations in Canadian Architect magazine.

Thank you

We are profoundly grateful for the leadership and generosity of SFU’s donor community whose passion and enthusiasm have made the Gibson Art Museum a reality. Heartfelt thanks especially to Marianne Gibson and the Gibson Family Trust, and to those whose generosity have helped the project come to fruition, including: the Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation, the Tuey Charitable Foundation, the Audain Foundation, and an anonymous donation honouring Andrew Petter, SFU president emeritus.

Learn more about the Gibson Art Museum.

This article is part of the Summer 2024 edition of our Engage Magazine. To view other articles, visit our Engage magazine webpage.