Annual Audain Gala raises record-setting $1 million for Whistler's Audain Art Museum

Event’s live auction featured works by Manabu Ikeda, Martha Sturdy, Robert Davidson, and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, among other artists

Yoshiko Karasawa made the winning bid on Manabu Ikeda’s *Five Windows* (2023) at the Audain Gala on April 13. Photo by Oisin McHugh

OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS was raised in support of the Audain Art Museum at this year’s Audain Gala, a record-setting amount for the event’s eighth annual edition.

The fundraiser held at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler on April 13 brought together over 500 art enthusiasts for an evening hosted by Fred Lee and Gloria Macarenko. Guests enjoyed a dance performance from Arts Umbrella, a cocktail reception during which they could view artworks up for auction, a sit-down dinner, and both a silent and live auction.

“We are thrilled with the incredible generosity of our supporters and the community,” said Curtis Collins, director and chief curator of the Audain Art Museum, in a release. “The Audain Gala underscores the profound impact of arts on our community. We extend our sincere appreciation to Nicola Wealth for their continued support and to all who helped make this event a resounding success.”

Among the 14 artworks presented to guests during the live auction were pieces by Japanese visual artist Manabu Ikeda, whose signature large-scale pen-and-paper drawings, each one meticulously detailed and created over the course of several years, landed him a role as the Audain Art Museum’s inaugural artist in residence; Canadian contemporary sculpture artist Martha Sturdy, whose bright-yellow public-art installation One World was seen on the West Vancouver waterfront last summer as part of the Harmony Arts Festival; and Haida-Tlingit visual artist Robert Davidson, whose works were displayed in an exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery last year titled Guud San Glans Robert Davidson: A Line That Bends But Does Not Break.

A highlight of the live auction for the museum was He said he was from Bella Bella (2004) by artist-activist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, who is of Coast Salish and Syilx (Okanagan) descent, which sold for $45,000.

The Audain Art Museum was established in 2016 with support from local philanthropists Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa (the latter of whom made the winning bid on Ikeda’s 2023 work Five Windows at the gala). Funds from the Audain Gala support the presentation of the art museum’s special exhibitions, programming, and permanent collection, which is made up of works that highlight B.C.

Guests can visit the museum in Whistler during regular hours, Thursday to Monday from 11 am to 6 pm.

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Emily Lyth

Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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