Laing+Simmons Young Property isn’t just a real estate agency, it’s a community hub, a centre for people to come together, a champion of local artists and a philanthropic venture that has donated tens of thousands of dollars to charity.
Opened by Amy and Matthew Young in December 2020, the agency also encompasses, The Studio, a space that regularly features the work of local artists, with proceeds from their exhibitions going to support the artist and local causes including Living Ocean, One Eighty, ORRCA, Dreams2Live4, Sea Shepherd Australia, the Be Centre and more.
And while setting up the agency wasn’t easy – they were forced to close within 24 hours of first opening due to Covid-19 – Ms Young says they’ve since gone from strength to strength in the Avalon community.
“When we opened our office we wanted to be immediately giving back to our community,” Ms Young said.
“We didn’t have a huge budget to work with, so what we did instead was leverage the network we did have, with the office that we had, and invite local artists to come and exhibit.”
Ms Young said establishing the agency during the pandemic, while posing some logistical challenges, turned out to be ideal timing.
“The beauty of that was that the community actually wanted connectivity when we did reopen,” she said.
“Our events gained momentum really quickly. We have a VIP open night, which is exclusive to our database, and it grew from 70 to 80 to 90 and now it’s about 150 people a month who attend.
“And we even have some diehard fans who come to every one, which is awesome and they’re just our biggest advocates in our community.”
Ms Young said a range of artists had exhibited at The Studio, including painters, photographers and sculptors and they were not charged a gallery commission for showing their work.
Instead, the artists have turned over and kept more than $100,000 and together, Laing+Simmons Young Property and the artists have donated more than $40,000 to local charities.
Most recently local artist Jo Bell held the Enchanted by the Sea exhibition, which raised $1600 for the Organisation for the Research and Rescue of Cetaceans in Australia.
Member for Pittwater Rory Amon acknowledged the effort in NSW Parliament and visited The Studio to help hand over the cheque.
“We’re proud to have been acknowledged by our local member in the NSW Parliament and we thank all of the artists who have exhibited their work, as well as the inspirational efforts of all the local organisations who give back to our beautiful Northern Beaches community,” Ms Young said.
As well as raising the funds for charity, Ms Young said The Studio had helped local artists show their work and give them a leg up to greater things.
She said The Studio has also helped new community members to make friends, build their support network and feel like they belong.
“And the studio has given us a platform to foster resilience, connection, and really renew hope among the community,” Ms Young said.
“And people pop in when the art exhibitions are on and are so grateful for the work that we do.
“It is, of course, a wonderful way for us to meet more of our community, but the thing that’s come out of it that we didn’t expect is that the community has got to know us for who we are and that’s happened really quickly.”
Ms Young said while the agency’s database had grown as a result of the exhibitions, that was not the purpose behind hosting the local artists.
“When we founded The Studio, we also felt very strongly that we wanted to have a sense of purpose and community pride in what we do.”
