Owner of Bury St Edmunds photography gallery, Guildhall Studio, to close due to rising costs

The owner of a Bury St Edmunds photography gallery has said he has made the difficult decision to close at the end of this year.

John Martyn, who opened Guildhall Studio three years ago, said the rising cost of energy had made it difficult to remain open.

“It’s obviously sad because we’ve been going for about three years now,” he said.

“We started just as Covid was happening. It’s been a great time, we’ve met some fantastic photographers and artists, we’ve run three or four exhibitions which are always well attended.

“The downside is just the cost. Things like gas and electricity – they’re just going up and it’s making it difficult to justify keeping the studio open.”

The studio, which sells a range of John’s photographs as well as the work of other photographers and artists in the area, will now be an online business.

John will continue to do photography commissions and hopes to exhibit his work at other venues around the town.

He hasn’t given up on the idea of owning a studio and would like to open another in the future, but on a smaller scale.

There will be a final exhibition running until December 22 which will feature the work of Tom Crittenden and Weina Xu Penhaligan.

According to plans submitted to West Suffolk Council in October, the studio could become a tattoo parlour.

For John’s website, see here.

More information about the studio can be found on the Guildhall Studio website.