Huddersfield Art Gallery has closed pending a move to a permanent new home in the proposed Cultural Heart.

The art gallery has been housed in a temporary unit in the Piazza Centre since August 2021 but it has now shut down.

Under the latest plans for Our Cultural Heart the art gallery will share the former Huddersfield Library building with a new museum.

The Our Cultural Heart development is now being carried out in phases but the art gallery isn’t in Phase 1 which could start next year with completion in late 2025. It is not known when the new gallery might re-open.

Since the gallery’s temporary space at Unit 7 in the Piazza opened it has hosted 20 exhibitions featuring works of established international artists as well as new and emerging local talent.

The gallery has also hosted community exhibitions, such as ‘TOWNSOUNDS’, which celebrated the diverse musical heritage of Kirklees and ‘A Year Like No Other’, which explored the pandemic’s legacy.

The Contemporary British Painting Prize exhibition debuted three times at the gallery before moving to London.

The long-term plan is for the art gallery to move back into the building it shared with Huddersfield Library

Kirklees Council says that while the gallery is closed, staff will continue to work with various partners and communities to develop an “exciting visual arts programme during the town centre’s cultural regeneration period.”

The gallery will explore innovative ways of maximising access and maintaining the Kirklees Art Collection’s profile, including work across all its museum and gallery sites.

Clr Yusra Hussian, Cabinet member for culture and greener Kirklees, said: “It’s a farewell for now from Huddersfield Art Gallery, not a permanent goodbye.

“Our committed and passionate gallery team will test new ways of working, deliver co-produced activities, provide learning opportunities and engagement with communities, and contribute to plans for exciting new art gallery provision in Huddersfield’s Cultural Heart.”