The Star Gallery is the hub of Lewes’ thriving arts and crafts scene. The former Beards brewery is home to around 30 creative companies from potters and guitar makers to science-fiction cartoonists and graphic designers. And more than this: the large room at the heart of the building has, since 1989, been the town’s flagship exhibiting gallery, which has in the past featured work from a wide range of artists from internationally acclaimed stars (Joan Miro, Lee Miller) to local talents (Tom Walker, Tom Benjamin).
Several weeks ago the owner of the building, Mark Canning, decided to sell the property, creating some consternation among the leaseholders there. The companies all had contracts which were to run out in March 2008; it was feared that if a property developer bought the premises, they would be given notice to leave. Some of them would have been forced to move out of town, as there is no other similar studio space available in Lewes. Others might well have had to close down. And what would have become of the building?
The good news is that this will not be the case. A buyer has been found for the Star, and Canning has sent a letter to all the companies housed in the development telling them that the new owner intends to run the business in the same manner as it is currently. Which means the future of the companies in the Star Gallery is, in effect, secure.
We hope that this signals the resurrection of the Star Gallery as a dynamically run space for exciting art exhibitions. In the past six months exhibitions in the Star have all but dried up, leaving Lewes’ best established and best equipped gallery lying empty for long periods of time, a sad waste of a beautiful space.