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Bob Rennie (born 1956) is an art collector and a real estate marketer based in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia. He is the founder and executive director of Rennie, a Vancouver based real estate marketing firm. The company's business divisions include Rennie developer services, Rennie consumer services (real estate brokerage), Rennie advisory services, Rennie rental services and technology. He is known colloquially as the "condo king". Rennie is deeply involved in the art community locally and internationally, and he maintained his own art museum in
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
's Wing Sang building until fairly recently gifting it to the Chinese History Society.


Life

Bob Rennie was born in 1956 and raised in East Vancouver on East 5th. His mother was a homemaker and waitress, and his father a truck driver for Carling Brewery. Rennie started selling East Side homes at the age of 19. He began selling condos in Vancouver in 1990 with Dan Ulinder, forming Ulinder Rennie Project Marketing. In 1997 Rennie bought out Ulinder and established Rennie Marketing Systems. Bob Rennie lives in Vancouver with his family, including his son Kris Rennie who is president of Rennie.


Projects

He has marketed such projects as
Fairmont Pacific Rim Fairmont Pacific Rim is an upscale hotel and condominium building in Vancouver, British Columbia. It stands at 140 m or 44 stories tall and was completed just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 4, 2010. History The skyscraper, which i ...
,
Living Shangri-La Living Shangri-La is a mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the tallest building in the city proper, though not in the Metro Vancouver Regional District, metro area, as Two Gilmore Place in Burnaby is taller ...
(Vancouver's tallest tower) and Vancouver's
2010 Olympic Village The Vancouver Olympic Village (VVL) is a neighbourhood and Olympic Village built by Millennium Development Group in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, originally built for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics. The site is lo ...
. Other projects include the Woodward's Building and
One Wall Centre One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre North Tower, is a 48- storey, skyscraper hotel with residential condominiums in the Wall Centre development at 1088 Burrard Street in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ...
.


Arts


Rennie Collection

Rennie Collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art in Canada, has evolved since 1974, when the first acquisition was made, to focus on works related to identity, social injustice, appropriation, painting and photography. The collection is dedicated not only to the acquisition of established international artists, but also the work of emerging artists. Currently, there are approximately 48 artists collected in depth with over 370 artists in total. The collection, while based in Vancouver, is usually spread across the globe, on loan to institutions like
Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...
New York,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
,
Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...
, Smithsonian and
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
, amongst many others. A former chair of the North America Acquisitions Committee (NAAC) at
Tate Museum Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, Rennie currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Tate International Council. In 2015, Rennie joined the Board of Trustees at
The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...
. Rennie sits on the Dean's Advisory Board to the Faculty of Arts at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
since 2003 and the University Art Committee since 2006 and is a former member of the Board of Governors at
Emily Carr University of Art and Design The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art school, art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Van ...
. Since 2015, Rennie has been featured in ArtNews Magazine's annual top 200 collectors list.


The Wing Sang Building

Rennie had a museum in Chinatown's Wing Sang building, the oldest (1889) building in Chinatown. Four years and over $10 million were spent renovating the building to transform the heritage landmark into an exhibit space for the Rennie Collection, open to the public free of charge. On top of the museum was an art piece by world-renowned artist
Martin Creed Martin Creed (born 21 October 1968) is a British artist, composer and performer. He won the Turner Prize in 2001 for exhibitions during the preceding year, with the jury praising his audacity for exhibiting a single installation, ''Work No. 22 ...
, "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT" (Work No 850). Creed's installation inspired the title of
Julia Kwan Julia Kwan is a Canadian screenwriter, director, and occasional producer of her own short and feature films. She has brought a keen sense of the Chinese-Canadian cultural experience to her films. Several of the films were made in conjunction with ...
's 2014 documentary film about Chinatown, '' Everything Will Be'', in which Rennie is interviewed. The first
Dan Graham Daniel Graham (March 31, 1942 – February 19, 2022) was an American visual artist, writer, and curator in the writer-artist tradition. In addition to his visual works, he published a large array of critical and speculative writing that spanned ...
pavilion in Canada used to sit on the roof of the museum. There is also a sculpture by
Thomas Houseago Thomas Houseago (born 1972) is a British contemporary artist. He lives in Los Angeles, California, and also has American citizenship. Much of his work has been Figurative art, figurative sculpture, often on a large scale, in plaster, bronze or a ...
. The Wing Sang Building received multiple awards including the 2010 Architectural Institute of British Columbia Special Jury Award, the 2011 City of Vancouver Heritage Award and the 2012 Vancouver Heritage Foundation Honour for Exceptional Heritage Conservation.


Rennie and the Vancouver Art Gallery

Rennie is a vocal opponent to the proposed move of the
Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...
from the current location in
Robson Square Robson Square is a landmark civic centre and public plaza, located in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the site of the Law Courts (Vancouver), Provincial Law Courts, University of British Columbia, UBC Robson Square, government offi ...
to a newly constructed building on the city-owned Larwill Park (formerly the bus depot) next to the
Queen Elizabeth Theatre The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is a performing arts venue in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Along with the Orpheum, Vancouver Playhouse, and thAnnex it is one of four facilities operated by the Vancouver Civic Theatres on behalf ...
. He questions the fiscal responsibility of the move, estimated to cost $400 million, as well as the plan to hire an international architect.


Controversy

Rennie has been criticized for trying to gentrify Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues, including disproportio ...
, one of the poorest communities in Canada, with the Woodward's Building project, which includes 536 condominiums and 200 non-market homes. Critics said that the project pushed residents out and increased rent for the neediest members of the city. Rennie is also the marketer for condominiums at the former
2010 Olympic Village The Vancouver Olympic Village (VVL) is a neighbourhood and Olympic Village built by Millennium Development Group in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, originally built for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics. The site is lo ...
, a project that has been the subject of controversy and extensive media attention around the project's financial challenges for several years. Since 2004, he has accumulated over two hundred parking tickets, of which he refers to as "the cost of being busy", all of which have been paid. Amidst a growing housing affordability crisis in the run-up to the
2014 Vancouver municipal election The 2014 Vancouver municipal election took place on November 15, 2014, the same day as other municipalities and regional districts in British Columbia selected their new municipal governments. As with previous elections, voters elected one mayor ...
, Rennie raised eyebrows and some outrage organizing an exclusive $25,000 a plate lunch for developer colleagues to have a private audience with then-mayor Gregor Robertson. The $25k lunch became the subject of a popular local internet meme.


Charitable causes

In 2012, Rennie made a major contribution to the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
with his donation of
Brian Jungen Brian Jungen (born April 29, 1970 in Fort St. John, British Columbia) is an artist of Dane-zaa and Swiss ancestry living and working in the North Okanagan—Shuswap, North Okanagan of British Columbia.Hoffmann, Jens. "Brian Jungen: Prototypes for ...
's 2004 artwork ''Court''. Consisting of 210–240 factory sewing tabletops repainted to look like a basketball court, the work has previously never been shown in Canada. A further 197 artworks were donated to the National Gallery of Canada in honour of Canada's 150th anniversary. The works, by some of the most internationally recognized Canadian artists (
Geoffrey Farmer Geoffrey Farmer (born 1967) is best known for extensive multimedia installations made of cut-out images which form collages. Early career Farmer was born at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, BC in 1967 and grew up in the Dundarave neighbourhood ...
,
Rodney Graham William Rodney Graham (January 16, 1949 – October 22, 2022) was a Canadian visual artist and musician. He was closely associated with the Vancouver School. Early life Graham was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on January 16, 1949. ...
,
Brian Jungen Brian Jungen (born April 29, 1970 in Fort St. John, British Columbia) is an artist of Dane-zaa and Swiss ancestry living and working in the North Okanagan—Shuswap, North Okanagan of British Columbia.Hoffmann, Jens. "Brian Jungen: Prototypes for ...
, Damian Moppett and Ian Wallace) as well as globally acclaimed artist
Doris Salcedo Doris Salcedo (born 1958) is a Colombian-born visual artist and sculpture, sculptor."Doris Salcedo"
Art 21 ...
, are valued at more than $12 million. As well as his extensive work with museums and art-related organizations, Rennie sits on the board for the Streetohome Foundation, a local organization that aims to help ensure the homeless in Vancouver have access to safe, decent, affordable housing and support services. The project has raised $26 million to date and resulted in the building of 1000 non-market homes. Rennie is also a noted supporter of
Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facili ...
. His past memberships include the University of British Columbia Art Committee, Board of Governors for Emily Carr University and Commissioner of BC Housing Management Commission Board. His current memberships includ
Council for Canadian American Relations (CCAR)BCIT Inspire Campaign Cabinet
British Columbia Centre on Abuse Community Engagement Board
Urban Development Institute (UDI)Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics Advisory Board
and Mayor's Economic Advisory Committee.


Awards

Rennie is consistently listed in Vancouver Magazine's annual Power 50; in 2011 he was named No. 8. In 2002 he was a recipient of the
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was ...
, and in 2012 the
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...
, both of which are awarded to Canadians who have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community, or to Canada.
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
awarded him the 2012 Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award, "for his role in bringing the Woodward's redevelopment—and SFU's new home for the School for the Contemporary Arts—to fruition." In recognition of his dedication to the arts and art community, Rennie received an honorary doctorate of letters from
Emily Carr University of Art and Design The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art school, art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Van ...
in 2008. Rennie was awarded the
Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...
in 2014 for demonstrating "exceptional dedication to strengthening and enhancing arts and culture in BC."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, Bob 1956 births Living people Canadian businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian art collectors