Laurentian University debacle allowed Sudbury artist to open own gallery

A Sudbury businesswoman turned artist recently celebrated the grand opening of her gallery.

Gillian Schultze said she has always had a passion for art and considered it as a full-time career when she was in high school.

"My art was never good as the person beside me so I gave it up," Schultze said.

"Instead, I carried through a full business career for 30 years."

Eight years ago, art became a passion project again when she discovered textile work.

"The thing was, it couldn’t be perfect, and if you think to high school, and everything, I wanted it to be perfect," she said.

"I had 30 years of living and realizing life is not perfect, and so my world exploded in terms of becoming an artist."

As a textile and multi-media artist, Schultze up-cycles clothing and material to create some of her work by interweaving textures into her pieces.

Schultze was formerly a director at Laurentian University, describing the job as stressful.

"Art was feeding my soul, Laurentian was feeding my kids," she said.

Schultze was amongst many laid off in 2021, a turn of events that allowed her to pursue her passion.

"I was laid off by Laurentian University, which, of course, was a surprise for me as it was for anyone else. But it was, in a way, a gift for me,'" she said.

Gillian Schultze said she has always had a passion for art and considered it as a full-time career when she was in high school. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News)

Gillian Schultze said she has always had a passion for art and considered it as a full-time career when she was in high school. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News)

Schultze's art gallery is located at the back of Summit Physiotherapy and Performance on Regent Street.

Cathy Coulson, owner and physiotherapist of Summit Physiotherapy and Performance, knew Schultze through the community and was at a seasonal gallery of hers in Killarney.

"We opened in January and it was white and it was bright and always reminded us of an art gallery," Coulson said.

She offered the space to Schultze, who excitedly agreed.

ART IS PART OF HEALTH

Coulson said she views health as holistic and said art is a part of that.

"If you come in with a knee injury but your hip is also sore and your lower back, we're not just going to look at your knee, we're going to look at the whole person," she said.

"I think art is a part of that."

Schultze held the grand opening of her art gallery Nov. 10. She said she was shocked by the turnout.

"It was beyond my wildest imagination. We had over 300 people," she said.

She said she is grateful for all the support from the community.

"I am a Sudbury artist, I'm a Sudbury girl. I went away to university and I came back," Schultze said.

"My work is my appreciation and love of northern Ontario and the natural world and how important it is to our mental health, our well-being and to the world."

The gallery is open Thursdays and Fridays from 4-7 p.m. and Saturdays noon-6 p.m.

o    Download our app to get local alerts on your device

o    Get the latest local updates right to your inbox