On September 20, 2025, a major new addition to Simon Fraser University's campus infrastructure officially opened its doors, with the launch of the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum (the Gibson).
The Gibson is a landmark cultural space and SFU's first purpose-built art museum, creating a vibrant new home for art, ideas and community connection. It offers 12,100 square feet of programming and engagement space, including four formal galleries. The museum will present exhibitions of work by contemporary local, national and international artists, as well as housing the 5,900 modern and contemporary paintings, photographs, sculptures, works on paper and public installations that make up the SFU Art Collection.
"Our mission at the Gibson is to encourage open learning about our past, current, and future worlds by supporting the work of critically-engaged and research-driven artists," states Kimberly Phillips, Director of the Gibson.
"Art museums on university campuses can be intimidating and exclusionary places, so our goal has been to listen to and learn from underserved communities in order to challenge prevailing ideas about who feels comfortable in visual art institutions. Our aim is to create a new kind of art museum that lowers barriers, embraces intergenerational, decolonial learning, and encourages cross-disciplinary inquiry through meaningful encounters with art."
The Gibson has been funded through a generous gift from the family of the late Edward Gibson, who joined the university in 1965 as one of SFU's charter faculty members. During his 30-year career at SFU, he shaped the university's commitment to arts, culture and community engagement through his passion for accessibility, diversity and the role that art plays in enhancing teaching and research.
In honour of his legacy, the Gibson is more than a museum it is a dynamic learning centre, sparking cross-disciplinary dialogue, hands-on inquiry and intergenerational engagement. Plans are in motion to ensure that the museum contributes to learning, teaching and research across departments and faculties, not just at SFU but across the province.
The museum building is open and inclusive by design, with large windows providing abundant natural light and create a sense of openness. The two entrances one facing the SFU Transit Exchange and the other the main campus deliberately invite visitors to explore the space seamlessly. The structure is made from B.C.-sourced mass timber beams, and the building is fully electric and LEED Gold certified, reflecting SFU's commitment to sustainability.
As SFU celebrates its 60th anniversary year, the Gibson is the latest significant upgrade to the Burnaby campus, following the recently-opened First People's Gathering House. These major infrastructure developments reflect SFU's commitment to continually improving the student experience and creating a world-class, vibrant campus environment for students, faculty and staff.
Construction also started earlier this year on the Phase 3 residence at the Burnaby campus, an eight-storey residence building that will accommodate 445 upper-year students and a 160-space child-care centre, and will further enhance the university's sense of community and belonging when it opens its doors in fall 2027.
"Over the past 60 years, SFU has fostered a deep commitment to arts, culture and community engagement in no small part inspired by Edward Gibson's contributions as a charter faculty member," says SFU President Joy Johnson.
"Now, the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum is a part of that legacy. I cannot wait to see how the museum enhances the creativity, excellence, innovation and accessibility of teaching and research at SFU, while becoming a cultural hub that serves and reflects the people of British Columbia."
