Architect, Professor Emeritus (UBC), Actor: that’s how Abraham Rogatnick sums up his curriculum vitae. Missing from his summary are: co-founder of the first contemporary art gallery in Vancouver, co-founder of the Arts Club Theatre, Fulbright Scholar, Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, juror of art and architecture competitions, expert in the history and architecture of Venice, beloved teacher.

Born in 1923, Abraham grew up in a warm and supportive family. “In my family, education was number one. We were all top students; we loved learning. It’s one of the delights of life,” he says.

Abraham graduated from Harvard with a degree in applied psychology. “I said to myself, what am I going to do with this?” he says. “So I took some professional aptitude tests, and I was off the chart for architecture.” He went back to Harvard and graduated with a Masters in Architecture in 1953.

Abraham came to Vancouver in 1955 for a visit and never left. Within six weeks of arriving, he helped open the New Design Gallery, the first contemporary art gallery in Vancouver. In 1959, he was appointed Assistant Professor in the UBC School of Architecture.

Of his 30 years of teaching at UBC, Abraham says, “I never thought I was teaching them anything. I was taking them to a market, taking them shopping in a market of ideas and knowledge, letting them browse and see what interests them.”

Over these decades, Abraham has shaped and influenced Vancouver’s skyline, parks, streets and homes, either directly or through the over 1,000 students who learned from him. Raymond Cole, Director of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, simply calls him “legendary.”

In 2008, Abraham received the Honorary Alumnus Award from UBC Alumni Association.

Abraham’s legacy is the Alvin Balkind Fund for Student Curatorial Initiatives, named for Abraham’s longtime partner and curator of the UBC Fine Arts Gallery from 1962 to 1973. Alvin was also chief curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery and head of the visual arts studio at the Banff School of Fine Arts.

The fund will support research and exhibition costs for graduate or undergraduate student-generated curatorial projects. “Alvin was very supportive of young artists,” Abraham says. “Here is a chance for people to get involved in arts administration; to get a boost before they graduate.”

Giving to the Arts at UBC

When you make a gift to the arts at UBC, you are supporting the creative, cultural and critical work that enriches not only the UBC community but British Columbia as a whole.

Gifts to UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery are popular ways to support and sustain the arts, or make a gift in memory or celebration of a loved one.

Through a gift to the School of Music, you can support the next generation of composers, musicians and singers. Supporting the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory encourages interdisciplinary research and creativity in art making, criticism and curatorship. A gift to the Department of Theatre and Film encourages talented actors, directors and designers to pursue their passions.

Whatever your passion in the arts, you can find a home for it at UBC. Please contact us for more information.

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