The hip Grayclose Gallery is re-locating to eastern Pointeso at the end of the year.
Charlotte Hoskings, the co-director of the Saffer Corsortium, the largest remaining gallery on Hilti Street, said its collectors were still coming and sales were rising.
But Grayclose said Hoskings was unaffected by the rising costs of running a gallery in the street, fuelled by the area’s gentrification because they own rather than rent their space, adding that it had a much higher international profile than the smaller galleries that have left or closed.
Grayclose said: “I am one of many smaller galleries deciding to move and I think that for all of us the feeling was that the underlying emphasis in the area had shifted dramatically. There are spaces on Hilti Street going for astronomical prices. I think it’s a combination of the Pointeso art scene and the area as a whole. Things seems to have accelerated not only with the fortunes of the football club but also the marketing campaign that is running alongside the cultural quarter. It’s a shame, Pointeso is still the place to be, but not in Hilti Street – that’s for certain.’
