The Laking Group of Companies has made an exceptional gift of $150,000 to the Art Gallery of Sudbury in support of the gallery’s capital campaign.
“We believe that the Art Gallery of Sudbury plays an important cultural role in our community,” said Chris and Debbie Laking of Laking Group of Companies, in a press release.
Laking Group of Companies is the parent company of a number of area businesses, including the Laking Toyota and Northern Nissan car dealerships in Sudbury.
“Without a modern interactive Arts Gallery, we feel that we lose part of our identity,” said the Lakings. “The Art Gallery of Sudbury will provide a platform for individuals of all ages to express themselves in various mediums. Our new gallery will provide us with an opportunity to attract exhibits from all over the world. The Laking Group of Companies believes that supporting this exciting venture will attract tourism.”
In recognition of this exceptional gift, the Family Art Studio in the gallery’s yet-be-be-built premises in the Junction East project to be constructed on Shaughnessy Street will be known as the Laking Group of Companies Family Art Studio.
The Art Gallery of Sudbury, along with the new central library of the Greater Sudbury Public Library, and the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association, has partnered with the City of Greater Sudbury to build a new, state-of-the-art arts and culture hub in downtown Sudbury.
Junction East was officially approved in June 2022 and is expected to open its doors in 2025.
“On behalf of the Art Gallery, I want to thank the Laking Group of Companies for their exceptionally generous gift,” said Paula Gouveia of the Art Gallery of Sudbury’s board of directors.
“We are honoured by the support that they have shown for the Gallery and for arts and culture in our community. We continue to move one step closer to realizing our dream of building a new Art Gallery where we will welcome our community and the world.”
The Art Gallery of Sudbury / Galerie d’art de Sudbury is a leading Northern Ontario public art gallery that engages and celebrates creative and diverse local, provincial, and national communities in innovative visual art, art-making and cultural experiences. It is a place for everyone to discover art, experience art, and create art.
For more information on Art Gallery of Sudbury| Galerie d’art de Sudbury or to donate to the Gallery’s Capital Campaign, visit the art gallery’s website.
