EX has lost its SPACE

Spacex at Preston Street, Exeter

At 7pm on Saturday 2nd April, Spacex closed its doors at Preston Street, said goodbye to its role as a permanent gallery space and began a new future as a commissioning organisation. From now on, rather than running a rolling programme of gallery shows, it will collaborate on projects with different curators, spaces, organisations and artists.

Spacex was an internationally important contemporary art gallery that punched way above its weight in terms of the art and artists it attracted to the south west. It was one of the reasons I moved to Exeter and one of the reasons I've stayed. However, the removal of regular Arts Council funding a couple of years ago put it on a path where operating out of a permanent building was no longer viable.

The city will feel the loss of its only dedicated contemporary art space, just as it felt the loss of its art school. We are running out of public spaces that aren't devoted to shopping. I hope it's a creative shift that makes room for new ideas, new participation and new opportunities, but only time will tell.