Bid to find new art space after closure of Babylon Gallery

A community group is calling on artists, organisers and creative thinkers to rally round to find a new gallery space for the city.

In September 2024, key stakeholders of the Babylon Gallery, in Ely, were told the community venue was struggling financially.

A community group took action and attempted to secure funding from local authorities to keep the gallery running, however, their efforts were unsucessful and the Babylon Gallery will now close in September.

Local artist Ted Coney said, leading up to the closure of the gallery, an informal meeting will take place to try and secure a new space for creatives in East Cambridgeshire to meet.

“It is hoped a working group can be formed to explore ideas and identify areas in the city that could possibly be used.”

The meeting will take place on September the 4, at 7pm at the Babylon Gallery, just days before the keys must be returned.

In a letter to the Ely Standard in August, reader Kevin Perry said that it brought him “great sadness” to see the contents of he Babylon Gallery up for sale.

He said that he felt “ashamed” that the local councils allowed the closure of the Babylon Gallery to happen.

In March of this year, a political row erupted between the Liberal Democrat MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, Charlotte Cane, and Conservative leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, Cllr Anna Bailey.

The MP said that the closure of the Babylon Gallery could have been prevented if the district council had agreed a proposed budget amendment.

However, Cllr Bailey said that the district council had worked in partnership with the City of Ely Council and Babylon Arts, but to no avail.

She said the district council’s doors will “always be open” if Babylon Arts want to engage with them.