A POPULAR gallery and hub for the arts has confirmed that it will close the doors at its St Aubin site at the end of December, but hopes to be operating in new premises early in 2023.
The Harbour Gallery, which opened in St Aubin in 2002, is nearing the end of its lease in St Aubin and has applied for planning permission to transform a former merchant’s house in St Helier into its new home.
An application for change of use for the 393sq-m harbourside property at Commercial Buildings was submitted in September. Pat Robson, co-owner of the Art in the Frame Foundation, which runs the gallery, said she hoped that approval of the application would be given within the coming weeks.
Mrs Robson said: ‘We will definitely shut in St Aubin on 31 December, although we are negotiating with our landlord about staying at the site during January.
‘We are quietly hopeful – touching wood – that we’ll have the go-ahead and be able to transfer across to the new site during January, and open at Commercial Buildings towards the end of the month, or in early February – perhaps Valentine’s Day.’
A significant amount of work would be required at the St Helier site, and Mrs Robson said the intention was to maintain the character of the gallery during its two decades in St Aubin.
‘We want it to still be very user-friendly, quirky and colourful – some galleries you go to can make people feel quite scared, whereas we want to keep the friendly feeling after we’ve moved,’ she said.
The site at Commercial Buildings is slightly smaller than the current premises in St Aubin and situated next to a property occupied by ceramic artist Jane James. Mrs Robson said she hoped the gallery would benefit from increased accessibility, with those working in St Helier able to walk across in their lunch hours.
Before the closure in St Aubin at the end of next month, there are hopes for a bumper festive season. Mrs Robson said the gallery would be open every day from 10am to 4.30pm and offer a wide range of merchandise suitable as Christmas gifts.
A number of local artists have agreed to contribute works for a relocation sale that will run during December, she added.
