(Quebec) An architectural competition will be launched for the construction of the Espace Riopelle, the new pavilion of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
Work will begin in the summer of 2023 and the opening is scheduled for 2025. Thursday, Prime Minister François Legault confirmed this project paying tribute to “Quebec’s greatest painter”, a “giant in our history”.
The project totals 143 million: 43 million for construction (20 million from the government, 20 million from the Riopelle Foundation and 2.5 million from the MNBAQ Foundation) and 100 million in donations of works from Michael Audain, André Desmarais, France Chrétien Desmarais, Pierre Lassonde and Yseult Riopelle (daughter of the painter).
This is an “unprecedented legacy in the history of cultural philanthropy in Quebec,” said Christiane Germain, president of the board of directors of the MNBAQ. Careful to deliver most of his speech in French, British Columbia businessman Michael Audain said he “considers Riopelle to be one of the greatest Canadian artists of all time and, most importantly, , like a true cultural hero here in Quebec and internationally ”.
“It took a collector and a philanthropist from the Canadian west coast to bring us together and remind us of the importance of Riopelle for Quebec’s heritage,” noted Pierre Lassonde.