VANCOUVER, BC.- The Michael O’Brian Family Foundation has donated $1 million to the UBC Museum of Anthropology (MOA) toward the renovation of one of MOA’s major galleries and to support future projects, including MOA’s Acquisition Fund. Recognition of this gift will include the renaming of Gallery 3 to The O’Brian Gallery, which will be unveiled on November 25, 2010 with the exhibition, Signed Without Signature: Works by Charles and Isabella Edenshaw.

The President of the Foundation, Michael O’Brian, has been a long time friend and advisor both to MOA and the UBC Faculty of Arts, and a dedicated supporter of the arts in Vancouver. Both he and his wife, Dr. Inna Vlassev O’Brian, are avid art collectors and actively involved in community affairs. “We are extremely fortunate to have friends like Michael who are so enthusiastically helping MOA to expand our scope in the acquisition and display of traditional and contemporary world arts and cultures,” says MOA Director Anthony Shelton.

The O’Brian Gallery will be a unique flexible space designed to exhibit and explore the aesthetics of small-scale objects and works of art. The inaugural exhibit, Signed Without Signature: Works by Charles & Isabella Edenshaw, considers the many reasons why the work of these two renowned Haida artists – produced nearly 100 years ago – continues to inspire the finest Haida artists of today, many of whom are their descendants.

“As both a public and teaching museum, MOA is in an enviable position to present world art, and to encourage new and exciting opportunities for learning and exchanging ideas,” says Michael O’Brian. “The Foundation is very pleased to support MOA as one of Vancouver’s leading cultural institutions.”

The Michael O’Brian Family Foundation also provides generous support to The Satellite Gallery, a new and experimental exhibition space shared by MOA, the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, and Presentation House Gallery.