This week, the arts in West Wales suffered a blow as the lovely people at Gas Gallery announced that the space will be closing on 25 September 2015. This will be a sad day and Gas Gallery wish to share a few words of thanks to all who have been involved and enjoyed the space: "A huge thank you needs to go out to all those who have supported Gas Gallery since its start; it has been entirely run by volunteers and totally self funded. Over 90 people have been involved in invigilating the gallery and supporting putting on events."
Ali Lochhead, the Chair of Gas Gallery, said: "However, due to the ongoing development around the building the management team has made the decision that managing Gas Gallery/Oriel Nwy is unsustainable. It has therefore decided not to seek renewal of the lease at the end of September 2015."
The arts events programme at Gas Gallery has been jam-packed. Since the space opened in May 2013 there have been 41 exhibitions including two Ceredigion Art Trail hubs and five OPEN exhibitions, as well as two Photography OPEN exhibitions and one Drawing OPEN featuring over 300 artists. Exhibitions have showcased work by local and international artists from as far afield as Holland, Germany, America and Australia. It has been a varied and exciting programme that sparked many creative conversations. There have been well over 400 artists showing work at the Gas Gallery|Oriel Nwy. Responding to their programme of events, Gas Gallery said: "It shows the wealth of artists in Ceredigion who need spaces to show their work."
They added: "The primary aim of Celf Ceredigion Art is to bring art to a wider public and this, we think, has been very successful. We have had to date over 15,000 visitors through the doors. The feedback from the public has been complimentary and almost every exhibition has raised questions and enabled people to see things in a different light."
As well as exhibitions, Gas Gallery encouraged a wide variety of events. These included Stories by Gaslight organised by Peter Stevenson with wonderful performers such as Michael Harvey, Sild, Guto Dafis, Francis Maxey and Maria Hayes, Laura Simms, Clive Hicks-Jenkins and Lynne Denman, who delighted audiences with spellbinding storytelling as well as music, mime, drawing, dance and performance.
Gas Gallery also hosted a 'Response Time 48 Challenge' with Scriptography Productions where artists, poets, performers, dancers and musicians made their own reaction to the art works on show. The space opened a monthly Surrealist Salon; an evening of surrealist parlour games with Mary Jacob. There have been music nights with The Hitties launching their CD, young people's drawing evenings with 'The Paper Club', artist s talks and walks, poetry evenings, book launches, writing workshops, Bazaars and other impromptu events a wide variety of creativity to enjoy. Gas Gallery said: "There has been a huge amount going on and it will be missed."According to Gas Gallery, Celf Ceredigion Art will continue with Pop-Up events and hopes to continue with the OPEN exhibitions. As for the Gas Gallery building itself, it will be empty until the Mill Street Development is complete; when it will revert to a commercial rented building.If you want to use the space for a Pop-Up exhibition or event please contact Ceredigion Council Estates by emailing either Jason Jones (Jason.Jones@ceredigion.gov.uk) or Thomas Williams (Thomas.Williams@ceredigion.gov.uk). Gas Gallery said: "It is a fabulous building USE IT it will be too sad to see it empty again."