Michael Audain

The history of Polygon Homes started in 1980 when Michael Audain was invited by W.K. Paulus to become the Executive Vice President and a partner in a company that owned an interest in three rental apartment properties. Initially, Audain built residential communities for housing cooperatives and non-profit organizations, but in 1983 he started building townhomes and apartments for the market. The company expanded in 1988 when Paulus sold his interest to Laing Property Corporation.

After Laing Property Corporation was taken over by P&O Limited, a British conglomerate, Audain and his partner Rick Genest[6] negotiated the acquisition of all the shares in the company in 1992, with Polygon becoming 100 percent British Columbia owned and managed. After Genest's death as a result of a highway accident in 2002, Neil Chrystal[7] became a major shareholder in the company and assumed the title of President and CEO. Since 1980, Polygon Homes Ltd. and its affiliated single-family builder Morningstar Homes Ltd. have completed the construction of over 29,000 homes in Metro Vancouver.[8][9]

1860 Tsimshian portrait mask at Audain Art Museum

Michael Audain and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa amassed a significant art collection which is considered among Canada's most outstanding.[11][12][13][14] Particularly strong was a large group of Northwest Coast First Nations masks which had been brought back to the Northwest Coast[15] from the United States and Europe, the acquisition and subsequent donation of a Potlach Figure to the U'Mista Cultural Centre in 2008;[16] a major collection of Emily Carr's works, Canada's most important collection of Mexican modernist[17] works, and one of the leading collections of Quebec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle. The collection was in part exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery in late 2012 and early 2013.[18] Nearly 140 works from this collection were installed at the Audain Art Museum in preparation for its opening in March 2016, and have now been donated to form the basis of the Museum's permanent collection.

Audain has also commissioned works from a number of British Columbia artists (personally or through Polygon) to allow them to develop their talents, including: James Hart, Robert Davidson, Xwalacktun (Rick Harry), Susan Point, Paul Wong, Marianne Nicolson, and Jay Simeon to name a few.

In September 2012, Michael Audain was invited to Whistler, British Columbia to discuss establishing a museum for his family collection.[19] Less than a year after his visit, the 56,000 square foot Audain Art Museum building designed by Patkau Architects commenced construction on land donated by the Resort Municipality of Whistler for a 199-year lease. Adjacent to Whistler Village, the Museum officially opened to the public on March 12, 2016[20][21][22][23] and houses a portion of the Audain Collection, a gallery dedicated to 15 works by E. J. Hughes,[24] as well as offers spaces for special exhibitions.[25][26] It is the only museum in Canada with a permanent collection that exclusively represents the artists of its home province. The Museum published a book by Ian M. Thom titled Masterworks from the Audain Art Museum, Whistler. The Museum is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Susan Adams, and is managed by Dr. Curtis Collins, Director & Chief Curator. Michael Audain remains a Trustee.

The Audain Art Museum Foundation was subsequently created to raise an endowment fund of $25 million (now increased to $50 million) to support the operations of the Audain Art Museum.[27] This registered not-for-profit charitable corporation is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Michael Audain. By mid-2020, over $27 million had been donated to the endowment by persons and companies called the Museum's "Founders".

Passionate about the legacy of Quebec artist Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), Michael Audain announced on October 3, 2019 the creation of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation. Serving as Chairman, Audain is joined on the board by Riopelle’s eldest daughter, business executives, art historians, and collectors dedicated to celebrating the contribution of the artist to international art history. The Foundation will also serve as a center of scholarship in the documentation, publication and discourse on the oeuvre of Jean Paul Riopelle.[28] The Foundation is managed by Montreal-based Executive Director Manon Gauthier.

October 7, 2023 will mark the centenary of Riopelle’s birth and the Foundation is planning to provide a multitude of opportunities to acknowledge his contribution to the visual arts.

Michael Audain Chairs the Board of the Audain Foundation, which was established in 1997 to support the visual arts in British Columbia with grants and endowments for capital projects and exhibitions at major public art galleries and educational institutions.[29][30][31][32] More recently, the Foundation managed by Executive Director Chantal Shah, has expanded its scope to include wildlife interests, including start-up funding for the new Grizzly Bear Foundation.[33]

The Audain Foundation has supported many initiatives, among them the Audain Endowment for Contemporary Canadian Art and the Audain Curator of Indigenous Art at the National Gallery of Canada (in recognition of this support, together with donations for special projects, collections and operations, the contemporary exhibition space is named La Salle Audain);[34] the new building for Arts Umbrella;[35] the Audain Curator of British Columbia Art, the Audain Emerging Artists Acquisition Fund, and the Post-Secondary Student Engagement in BC Program[36][37] at the Vancouver Art Gallery; the Audain Curator of First Nations Art Endowment Fund and the new building for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria;[38] the Audain Professorship in Contemporary Art Practice of the Pacific Northwest and the Audain Gallery and Atrium[39] at the University of Victoria; the Audain Endowment for Curatorial Studies,[40] the Audain Art Centre,[41] the commissioning of the Reconciliation Pole by James Hart,[42] and the Audain Chair in Historical Indigenous Art[43] at the University of British Columbia; the donation of a Nuu-chah-nulth ceremonial club from Captain James Cook's collection,[44] and the Audain Gallery[45] at the Museum of Anthropology; a gift to support Northwest Coast art studies[46] and the Audain Visual Artists-in-Residence Program/School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University (recognized with naming the main exhibition space the Audain Gallery);[47] the acquisition of a Bill Reid OBC masterpiece[48] for the Royal British Columbia Museum; the annual Emerging Artist Scholarship at YVR Art Foundation;[49] the Audain Art Studio at Brentwood College;[50] the Audain Great Hall at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art;[51] the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art;[52] the Audain Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Program[53] and the Audain Faculty of Visual Arts[54] at Emily Carr University of Art and Design; the Audain Chief Curator Endowment Fund and the new building[55] for The Polygon Gallery (previously Presentation House Gallery) in North Vancouver; the Arts Umbrella capital campaign for a new building;[56] and the Audain Art Museum building[57] and art acquisitions.

In 2004, the annual Audain Prize for the Visual Arts was established to recognize the outstanding achievements of British Columbia's senior artists.[58] The $100,000 award is now administered by the Audain Art Museum.

A close encounter with a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and her three cubs inspired Michael Audain to establish and fund a registered charitable organization in 2016,[59] dedicated to the welfare of grizzly bears. The Grizzly Bear Foundation supports the conservation and preservation of grizzly bears through research and public education. It commissioned a Board of Enquiry to travel the province of British Columbia in the fall of 2016 to seek information from individuals and organizations that have an interest in the grizzly bear. The report summarizing the findings of this Enquiry was submitted to the Provincial Government in March 2017.[60] The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Stuart McLaughlin and managed by Executive Director Nicholas Scapillati.

During the 1960s Michael Audain led a colourful life as a social activist. At the University of British Columbia he founded and was President of the Nuclear Disarmament Club,[61] which among other initiatives, organized peace marches. In 1962 Audain organized the largest peace march in Vancouver since the 1930s. Also at the University of British Columbia, together with a group of faculty members, Audain founded The Penthouse Radical Society, which met monthly on the top floor of the Faculty of Arts Buchanan Building to discuss social and economic issues.

Audain also served as an editor of the international magazine, Our Generation Against Nuclear War,[62] and was also a delegate to the 1961 founding convention of Canada's New Democratic Party.

In the summer of 1961, he saw action as a Freedom Rider in the United States south, being sentenced in Jackson, Mississippi to a jail term and a $250 fine. He served part of his sentence in the city jail in Jackson, as well as the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.[63][64][65][66][67]

Together with a group of University of British Columbia faculty, Audain was instrumental in founding the BC Civil Liberties Association in 1962,[68] the first executive meeting being held in his apartment in Kitsilano, a neighbourhood of Vancouver. Later he served for two years as Executive Secretary of the BCCLA before leaving Canada for New York City and eventually London.

While a student in London, Audain was an active member of the campaign to end the Vietnam War, and was also involved in left wing student activity.

1. Emily Carr University of Art and Design[73] (2005)
2. Simon Fraser University[74] (2005)
3. University of Victoria[75] (2009)
4. University of British Columbia[76] (2014)
5. Vancouver Island University[77] (2017)

Michael Audain is a Governor and past Chairman of the Business Council of British Columbia, and a past President of the Urban Development Institute Pacific Region.

1. Builder of the Year Award – Urban Development Institute Pacific Region (1987)
2. Homebuilders Association Vancouver Hall of Fame (2005)
3. Business Laureate of the British Columbia Hall of Fame] (2009)
4. Member Urban Development Institute Hall of Fame (2012)[78]

1. Edmund C. Bovey Award – Business for the Arts[79] (2004)
2. British Columbia Museums Association Award for Distinguished Service[80] (2005)
3. Simon Fraser University President's Distinguished Community Leadership Award[81] (2008)
4. Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Community Leadership Award (2008)
5. Vancouver Biennale Philanthropy in the Arts Award (2011)[82]
6. Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Philanthropy[83] (2012)
7. Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal[84] (2013)
8. Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship[85] (2017)
9. Canadian Museums Association President's Award[86] (2017)
10. Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Metro Vancouver Chapter, Architecture Advocacy Award[87] (2017)
11. Alma Mater Society, University of British Columbia Great Trekker Award (2019)[88]