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New Art Gallery for York
by Deirdre Kelly
Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects will design a new stand-alone art gallery at York University after emerging as the winner of an online design competition that incorporated feedback from York faculty, students and the extended community.
Led by Siamak Hariri and David Pontarini, the firm is known for its innovative building designs, including the new Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Festival in Ontario.
“The AGYU has a long history as a leader in presenting and supporting artists. As a contemporary art gallery, it strives to serve an aesthetic and social function,” says AGYU director and curator Jenifer Papararo. “Our goal with this ambitious new building is to establish both liveness and legacy by maintaining a critical contemporary art program and giving prominence to the University’s collection.”
The new three-storey art gallery – to be located between the Keele Campus’s Accolade East Building and the Centre for Film & Theatre – is made possible by a $5 million donation given to York University by philanthropists and art collectors Joan and Martin Goldfarb. It will be named after the Goldfarbs in recognition of their ongoing support of arts and culture at the University. ■
