Project Native Informant, an influential east London gallery known for its wide-ranging and adventurous programming, has announced its closure after 12 years of operation. The gallery, which showcased notable artists including the post-internet art collective DIS, Turner Prize nominee Sin Wai Kin, musician Juliana Huxtable, and photographer and art critic Hal Fischer, made the announcement through founder Stephan Tanbin Sastrawidjaja's Instagram post on October 31.

Sastrawidjaja explained that the decision to wind down the gallery was not made lightly, citing challenging external circumstances. "The current global economic, political and social environment has shaped into an extremely volatile and unsustainable environment for a gallery such as ours," he wrote in the announcement. He also acknowledged that personal factors contributed to the difficult decision to close the gallery.

The gallery had not staged any exhibitions across its neighboring Bethnal Green spaces since July, when it concluded separate shows by Sean Steadman and Anna Jung Seo. This period of inactivity reflected the broader challenges facing the gallery in recent months as it navigated an increasingly difficult operating environment.

A significant blow to the gallery came in April of last year when Sastrawidjaja publicly acknowledged the departure of Joseph Yaeger, one of Project Native Informant's most commercially viable artists, from the gallery's roster. The American painter subsequently signed with both Modern Art and Gladstone galleries later that year, representing a major loss for the smaller independent gallery.

Yaeger had begun working with Project Native Informant after graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2019. His solo exhibitions of cinematically composed and psychologically charged paintings at the gallery played a crucial role in establishing him as one of London's most sought-after emerging artists. His market success was demonstrated when his auction record was set at Phillips in London last October, with his 2021 painting "Sphinx without a secret" selling for £203,200.

Despite the loss, Sastrawidjaja expressed pride in the gallery's collaboration with Yaeger. "While the conclusion of such an intimate relationship must be viewed with great sadness, we are immensely proud of everything we have collaborated with Joseph: his first solo exhibition at a commercial gallery, his first solo institutional show, his first institutional acquisition, his first solo presentation at an art fair and his first comprehensive catalogue," he wrote last year.

Project Native Informant was established in 2013 by Sastrawidjaja in a windowless garage in Mayfair before relocating to a larger space in Bethnal Green in east London. The gallery positioned itself among other respected galleries in the area, including Maureen Paley, Rose Easton, and Herald Street. Throughout its operation, it maintained an active presence in the international art fair circuit, regularly participating in prestigious events such as Frieze London, Art Basel, and Art Basel Hong Kong, as well as the gallery swap initiative Condo.

The closure of Project Native Informant reflects a broader trend affecting the art market in 2024, as galleries worldwide face mounting pressures from economic uncertainty. Earlier this month, well-regarded dealer Nir Altman announced the closure of his Munich space, which will be taken over by Paulina Caspari gallery. These closures come amid reports of a prolonged downturn in the art market, with global art sales plummeting by 12 percent in 2024 according to the latest Art Basel/UBS report, highlighting the challenging environment that independent galleries like Project Native Informant have struggled to navigate.