The Audain Art Museum is a new addition of things to check out when you are in Whistler. As part of this trip, I was happy to visit this highly talked about art Museum. The building is brand new and is an amazing piece of artwork itself. Even though it is modern art, with its hard lines and angles you can’t help but see that the building is a take on the mountains in the background. The interior also continues this look. It gives the building a spacious feel and you can easily forget it is an art museum. There is a lot of natural light coming in, with the far wall being all glass windows, allowing you to see out at the beauty that is Whistler.

As with a lot of art museums, there is a permanent collection along with exhibits which are switched out to keep things looking fresh. The permanent collection is donated by Michael Audain and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa. There are two floors and the building itself is 56,000 square feet, with 10,100 square feet housing the permanent collect and 8,100 square feet for temporary exhibits. The rest of the space is used for meeting/teaching rooms, lobby and areas set up for watching creative media videos.

On the main floor, you walk through large pieces of Northwest Coast First Nations masks and other artwork pieces followed by paintings by various artists showcasing the coasts of British Columbia. These are part of the permanent collection. They have a large collection of paintings from Emily Carr as well as E.J. Hughes, along with art by Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith and several others.

The age of the artwork varies from over 100 years old to something done within the last couple of years. As you wander through the museum, you quickly deduce why they have built the building so large: some of the art pieces can take up a whole wall or be twice the high of a person. One display that stood out for me was from Brain Jungen - a multimedia piece done using Nike athletic leather footwear on totem pools made from golf bags and cardboard tubes.

For those who request, there are walk and talk tours with an expert who can explain the permanent collection. There is an all ages art experience which has hands-on making activities and special tours through the museum. You can check out their website for upcoming events and art exhibits.

Related Articles

Contributor Steve Polyak |

Locale British Columbia | Whistler |

Topic Arts | Museum | Travel | Whistler Pride |

Photo Gallery Travel |Whistler |