About Us
Laurentian University is host to many arts and cultural events, activities, and groups. Our tricultural mandate values university experiences in both English and French, while promoting Indigenous perspectives and cross-cultural understanding. We draw in the Sudbury community with our numerous events hosted at our campus and the downtown McEwen School of Architecture, and bring recognition to Laurentian through our partnerships with other events and venues around the city.
#LUartscultureUL
Laurentian Culture
The definition of “culture” is different for each person. It reflects our values, beliefs, customs, languages, lifestyles and traditions. As such, we can say that culture is a multidimensional idea that can be defined in many different ways.
Definition of culture from the Greater Sudbury Cultural Plan 2015-2020.
For a more detailed look at culture within Sudbury, visit http://www.greatersudburyculture.ca/
Strategic Plan Outcome #4
"We will be a hub for arts and culture, increasing awareness of the artistic and cultural contributions of Indigenous, Franco-Ontarian, and other Northern artists."
We plan to implement several initiatives to strengthen the presence of art around campus and showcase the talents of our Northern, Franco-Ontarian, and Indigenous artists. We strive to increase the awareness and participation in our cultural events and bring together the community by promoting these events publicly for all to find so no one misses out!
Click below to read more about the goals and progress of Outcome #4:
Outcome #4 Updates and Successes
Lead (as at January 2019): Gillian Schultze
Executive Lead: Tracy McLeod
Laurentian University Arts and Cultural Events from September, 2019
Laurentian University Arts and Cultural Events from January, 2020
Lunches with a Lake Concert Series
Date: January 10, 2020
Vale Living with Lakes Lunches with a Lake Concert Series presented the Sudbury Guitar Trio featuring Dr. Matthew Gould, Allan Yzereef, Jr. and Keenan Comartin, Classical Guitars.
"A Geography of Grief-Love" Exhibition
Dates: January 10-24, 2020
A new series of paintings by local artist Angelene Humphrey was exhibited at Laurentian’s McEwen School of Architecture until Jan. 24. It presents 11 monochromatic acrylic paintings that are a result of the artist/mother/partner learning to embrace and work through/with/from pain and loss encountered in life. They are about navigating the complex and strenuous trajectories of grief associated with perinatal loss towards acceptance, hope and love.
Elsa Lam Lecture - “Canadian Modern Architecture, 1967 to the Present”
Date: January 16, 2020
The first lecture of the winter 2020 Laurentian Architecture Lecture Series, presented by TREMCO. Elsa Lam (Editor-in-chief of Canadian Architect, Toronto, Ontario) spoke about the key themes of the new book she co-edited: “Canadian Modern Architecture, 1967 to the Present”. The book features a review of major work in Canada over 50 years.
“Inhabitable Walls” Presentations
Date: January 16, 2020
Fourth year students from the McEwen School of Architecture presented their “Inhabitable Walls” in collaboration with Villeneuve Financial Consulting. The event featured 19 teams and their creation of an inhabitable wall, accompanied by a presentation on their designs. The public was invited to come and cast their vote for the $500 People’s Choice Award.
“Are you ready to sweat for the TNO?”
Dates: January 23-February 1, 2020
The Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (TNO) is celebrating the 40th edition of its community production! To mark the occasion, seven local personalities will take the stage for one night in Gym Tonic, an energetic comedy directed by Ryan Demers-Lafrenière. One at a time, they will share the stage with a brilliant group of amateur community actors to bring to life Boule de feu, an intense and enigmatic character bent on increasing his muscle mass.
McEwen School of Architecture - Michael Sorensen Lecture
Date: January 30, 2020
The second lecture of the winter 2020 Laurentian Architecture Lecture Series, presented by TREMCO. Michael Sorensen is from Copenhagen, Denmark and is part of Henning Larson Architects. Lecture title and contents to be announced.
Laurentian University Upcoming Arts and Cultural Events for February, 2020
Nuit Blanche
Date: February 8, 2020
The McEwen School of Architecture is hosting its fourth Nuit Blanche. Join the McEwen Architecture School for an evening of student, professor, and community made installations. The evening will feature performances by local musicians, singers, and dancers.
City Dreamers: Film Screening
Date: February 12, 2020
The McEwen School of Architecture will host a screening of the film City Dreamers, in collaboration with Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture. The screening will happen at 5:30 pm in the Lecture Hall.
The film is about our changing urban environment and four trailblazing women architects who have been working, observing and thinking about the transformations shaping the cities of today and tomorrow for over 70 years. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Joseph Hillel (film director) and Shannon Bassett, Assistant Professor of Architecture.
Partage/Partake: A GNO Installation
Dates: Opening - February 13 5:00pm, 2020; Exhibition - February 13-March 14, 2020.
This collaborative in situ installation by three students from the McEwen School of Architecture uses the GNO as a canvas to encourage reflection on our relationship to space and our interactions with it.
Partage/Partake is presented in exclusivity as part of the McEwen School of Architecture’s 3rd Nuit Blanche.
Red Dress Campaign
Dates: February 14, 2020
Please join us in honouring, remembering, and raising awareness of our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at Indigenous Student Affairs’ 5th Annual Red Dress Campaign. Located at the ISLC on campus.
McEwen School of Architecture - Jinhee Park Lecture
Date: February 29, 2020
The third lecture of the winter 2020 Laurentian Architecture Lecture Series, presented by TREMCO. Jinhee Park is from Seoul, South Korea and is part of Single Speed Design. Lecture title and contents to be announced.
The LUMAC Art Collection
The Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre (LUMAC) was developed as a Centennial project of the Sudbury and District Chamber of Commerce in 1968. From 1968 to 1997, the Centre was operated by Laurentian University, and directed by the late Pamela Krueger for almost 20 years, from 1977 to 1995. On July 1, 1997, LUMAC was incorporated as the Art Gallery of Sudbury | Galerie d’art de Sudbury.
The Permanent Collection of the Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre comprises more than 1,400 works by notable artists, including Aba Bayefsky, Carl Beam, Frederick Hagan, Daphne Odjig, Bert Weir, and members of the Group of Seven.
In 1981, the Centre received the estate of B.A. McDonald, a local businesswoman, allowing for the purchase of new acquisitions. At that time the Collection numbered roughly 600 works. From 1986 to 1997, LUMAC collected around 800 works, bringing the total to over 1,400.
In 1986, Ruth and Jack McCuaig donated a significant part of their personal collection, which helped broaden the LUMAC Permanent Collection. Works by artists who have painted in Northern Ontario, both historical and contemporary, including artists such as A.J. Casson, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, and J.E.H. MacDonald, were selected.
LUMAC’s largest collection of work by a single artist is the Frederick Hagan Collection. In the span of seven years, from 1986 to 1993, 287 works were gifted by the artist to the Centre. Canadian painter and printmaker Frederick Hagan has significant ties to Northern Ontario, as Pamela Krueger writes: “The North became Frederick Hagan’s anchor in life, and often the work accomplished there became the source material for his paintings and prints” (Pamela Krueger, 1991).
In 1991, LUMAC acquired 30 paintings from the artist Bert Weir, some of which are displayed in the J.N. Desmarais Library at Laurentian University. After graduating OCA (Ontario College of Art) in 1952, Weir returned to Northern Ontario to live and work, as his daughter writes in his obituary, Weir “spent his lifetime in the bush in northern Ontario on a quest to depict the beauty, power and reality of nature in paint.” Weir has a special connection to Sudbury, Ontario, as many local artists - Dennis Castellan, Mary Green, Ray Laporte, and Heather Topp - remember him fondly as an enthusiastic teacher who often gave feedback during drawing circles (“Bert Weir” 2018).
Description by Karley Staskus, MMSt., Registrar, Art Gallery of Sudbury | Galerie d’art de Sudbury.
Outcome #4 team members have developed a 5 year plan to display some of the works from the LUMAC collection on campus. (see plan here)
A call for artists will be sent out each year for an artist to create a response to the chosen LUMAC work. The selected piece will be installed next to the original LUMAC piece on campus for the duration of the display every year.
This plan will bring awareness to the LUMAC collection and create a greater appreciation for art at Laurentian. It will also give local artists the opportunity to have their work displayed publicly, increasing recognition of the artistic talent in our region.