Brian McBay is an artist and designer based in Vancouver, Canada. In 2005 he co-founded 221A, a non-profit organization that focuses on the research and development of new social, cultural and ecological infrastructure led by artists, where he is currently the Executive Director. During his tenure, 221A has become known for responding to historically low funding conditions in the arts by developing over 40,000 square feet of multi-tenant artist facilities that generate revenue towards its charitable initiatives. Under his direction, the society continues to present an experimental and wide-ranging art program including a public art site and research library, with artists, designers and curators, while also working on utopian ambitions of restructuring economic contexts towards artistic self-determination. Of Chinese-Canadian and European ancestry, he also takes interest in the renewal and demands of multiculturalism towards a more critical practice of diversity. He is the current vice-chair of the City of Vancouver's Arts and Culture Policy Council.