The owners of Chapel Arts on Knapp Road in Cheltenham have announced that the venue is to close its doors for good this July 2022.
Having survived through the pandemic, the venue will sadly close permanently on Sunday 31 July 2022, with owner Ian James and business partner Sallie Taylor saying they are ‘devastated’ and ‘so hope that someone takes Chapel Arts over, as the stunning and unique arts and music venue that it is’.
The venue was in a poor state of repair when Ian and Christine James bought it, with the couple spending months lovingly restoring the building, working hard to maintain its original windows and timber ceiling while modernising it with a lift, underfloor heating and a glass and steel gallery area.
Officially opening as Chapel Arts in 2017, the unique building has played host to a variety of events, including art exhibitions; concerts and music recitals; creative workshops; as well as drama performances from classic Shakespeare plays to an atmospheric, gender-swapped adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as part of Cheltenham Literature Festival.
In a statement to its clients, Taylor said: ‘It was so important to us to give free weekly concerts; to encourage music scholars to perform at Chapel Arts in such a magnificent venue and alongside professional musicians; to have fund raising concerts and free art exhibitions – all part of keeping a small piece of life special and thoughtful.
‘We believe it will be a huge loss to Cheltenham – and of course, we are, personally, very sad because we love the place – all of us, me, Ian (who had the idea, the vision, the designs in his head) and our amazing volunteers and supporters’.
Chapel Arts will be open until Sunday 31 July 2022 with events, including its Free Friday Lunchtime Concerts, taking place right up until its closing date.
