A selection of Turner Prize winning artists are among a host of names protesting against the closure of one of Brighton’s most important art galleries.

The University of Brighton’s Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Grand Parade closed its doors for good on Friday after the decision was announced in May.

Now, scores of stakeholders from the University of Brighton, including three Turner Prize artists, have written to senior management to criticise the decision and call for the site to be re-opened.

The letter, co-signed by prize winner Tai Shani, nominee Fiona Banner and curator Sarah James, reads: “Brighton CCA has made an extremely valuable contribution to student experience, research and partnership working, including community engagement, and has done so much to support inclusivity, equality and diversity within the University and beyond.

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“The closure of the CCA is seen locally, nationally and internationally as a great loss to the city and the arts, with many institutions and individuals expressing their disbelief and despair at the decision.

“The CCA has been revered in the art and national press for the last few years, building up a reputation that would be difficult to develop again.”

Ben Roberts, director of the CCA, previously told The Art newspaper that the closure came “out of the blue” and called the decision “hugely disappointing”.

The closure also means that a 30-piece show by Turner Prize winner Helen Cammock which was due to take place this summer has been scrapped.

In a review in The Guardian, Laura Cumming described the decision as “disgraceful and outrageous”.

The gallery will instead be used as a teaching space for the foreseeable future.

In an email from the dean of the School of Art and Media at the university, Professor Tamers Jeffers McDonald said: “We now need to focus on our core business of providing the best educational experience we can for all our students, whilst continuing to meet our regional priorities and ambition through research and innovation.”

The news comes as university staff fight over 110 redundancies which are currently planned.

Actions including marches and occupying the Vice Chancellor's office have taken place over recent months with lecturers now planning to strike.

Dr Kevin Biderman, Brighton UCU rep and senior lecturer in arts and media at the University, said: "The university will be shut down until all compulsory redundancies are off the table.

"Students planning to come here in September and October need to realise the academic year will not begin unless our talented colleagues remain in place."

The university cited "generationally high inflation" and other financial pressures as the reason for the job cuts.