Structural issues force the temporary closure of the Art Gallery of Sudbury | CBC News

Engineers will be studying the structure of Laurentian University’s Bell Mansion in the next week to determine whether it’s still safe for the Art Gallery of Sudbury to carry on its operations there. 

Barriers were erected around parts of the historic building to allow for experts to investigate its state.

There is no damage to the collections, exhibitions, education space and gift shop area.

One of the main issues identified by the engineers concerns the building’s interior staircase. Without that structure, there is essentially no bathroom access, which is why the gallery has to close its doors to the public.

It’s a development director and curator Demetra Christakos did not see coming. 

“Laurentian University was doing work on the chimney on the west facing wall. We could see something was happening in terms of access to that particular structure. But the news came as a surprise to us,” she said.

Programs and exhibitions to be relocated

Christakos adds that the closure comes at a time when the Art Gallery of Sudbury’s programming is in full swing. 

The organization is exploring options for temporarily relocating weeknight and weekend art education programs, in addition to finding another venue for its current exhibition.

“There will probably be another week of investigation into it and then we should know a little bit more at that time whether we’re in a short term or medium term situation of closure,” said Christakos. 

In a statement, Laurentian University’s interim president and vice-chancellor Sheila Embleton said that work is underway to determine whether it would be possible to temporarily house the Art Gallery of Sudbury on campus. 

As part of exiting its insolvency process, Laurentian University previously considered selling off the Bell Mansion, but ended up entering an agreement with Art Gallery of Sudbury that it wouldn’t do so until May 2025. 

“We do not anticipate this closure having an impact on our current agreement with the Art Gallery,” added Embleton. 

It’s still unclear when a move will happen

The Art Gallery of Sudbury has been looking for a larger location for years. Earlier this summer, city council and staff started looking at hosting the Art Gallery and a library at Tom Davies Square, which is home to Sudbury’s city hall. 

But it’s a lengthy process. 

In a late September update to council, city advisor Ian Wood said teams were still doing assessments to figure out costs, design, structural reinforcement and how many of the current services need to be moved around. 

“We’re hoping to have cost estimates early in the new year,” he said. 

“Our estimate is that we could finish this project at the end of 2026,” said Wood, adding that he will have a more precise date in early December.