VANCOUVER, BC.- Pamela and David Richardson announced today a $5,000,000 commitment in support of the Vancouver Art Gallery Art Opens campaign. This gift includes support for the capital campaign as well as ongoing program support for the Gallery between 2022 and 2028.

“Pamela and Dave have been long-term supporters of the Gallery,” said Anthony Kiendl, CEO of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “We are eternally grateful for their generosity and commitment toward the creation of our future Gallery. We are overjoyed to accept this gift and to have the Richardsons as benefactors of the new Gallery.”

The donation will be used to fund both the new building and Gallery programs including the publishing of catalogues and other educational materials. This gift includes support for art education programs focused on mental health and wellness, a cause close to the hearts of the Richardson family, who also provide support to the Stigma-Free Society. Among these programs will be initiatives for therapeutic art for the betterment of youth, under-served and Indigenous populations and the greater community of Vancouver and British Columbia.

“We are so grateful for this transformational gift. The support of the Richardson Family demonstrates that a connection to community and learning is integral to the future of the Gallery,” says Broek Bosma, Chief Advancement Officer. “This gift will help to transform both the physical Gallery and support the tremendous educational programming that reaches our community every day.”

In recognition of this gift, the Resource Centre, Library and Archives in the new Vancouver Art Gallery will be named The Pamela and David Richardson Family Library and Learning Centre. This support from the Richardson Family will be vital as the Gallery looks to the new building and to continue its commitment to the preservation and organization of its unique publications, collections and archives.

A longtime supporter of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Pamela Richardson joined the Gallery Board in 2014 and was appointed Vice-Chair in 2018. She has been an active member of the Board and has participated in several committees including the Acquisitions Committee, Governance & Nominations Committee and the Capital Campaign Cabinet.

With this donation, the Richardson family joins a group of patrons who share in the Gallery’s vision to build an accessible cultural legacy for future generations, showcase artistic achievement in British Columbia and remove the barriers to the benefits of art.