Decision to allow Laurentian to sell gallery's art collection draws disappointment from community

There is disappointment and concern among the arts community in Sudbury.

It's following a court decision this week that allows Laurentian University to sell the art collection at the Art Gallery of Sudbury.

The ruling also allows the post-secondary school to sell the Bell Mansion property where the Art Gallery of Sudbury currently resides. A timeline was given to allow the gallery time to move into its new home within the city's proposed Junction East Centre.

But it's the potential sale of the $4.8 million art collection, which Laurentian has said it won't consider until after the creditor protection process is concluded, that's stirring up the arts community.

"The fact that it becomes a commodity that could be used for who knows what is a bit disturbing," said Linda Cartier, past president of the Sudbury Arts Council.

"Certainly the value of [the art] that's not a dollar value is significant to the community," she added.

Cartier explained that some of the art in the collection is local, and some are "core Canadian pieces." 

"It's a big piece of who we are," she said.

"In a lot of cases [the art] was gifted or received in different ways and the people that were doing that would not have been thinking that it was going up on an auction block at some point in time, but that more that it was going to be there for northern Ontario people to enjoy and to attract other people to our area."

When the Sudbury Arts Council was first making its concerns known about the potential sale of the Bell Mansion property and artwork, several families of artists whose works are part of the collection, provided letters of concern.

"They were not happy with it being a possible way to resolve Laurentian University's financial difficulties," Cartier said. "It was intended to be there for people to enjoy the exhibitions."

"This is a property of a gallery. The artists have given their artwork to a gallery, not for the profit of Laurentian University to get rid of a debt," said Danielle Tremblay, director of la Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario (GNO).

"It represents northern artists. It's their story. It's our story. It belongs to the community."

If Laurentian puts the artwork up for sale, Tremblay said GNO does not have the budget or the space to purchase it.