Otago Peninsula Artists Society spokesman Tudor Caradoc-Davies said artists were upset with the council's decision to temporarily relocate the gallery away from its Princes St home, to make room for the i-Site Dunedin Visitor Centre.
The i-Site's normal Octagon space was being closed for six months during work on the $45 million redevelopment of the town hall and Municipal Chambers complex.
However, Mr Caradoc-Davies said artists had been left with a smaller "unsuitable" space at 300 Moray Pl, leased by the council after it decided to relocate the gallery.
The Moray Pl venue had "very little" window frontage, a low ceiling and less foot traffic, but was being offered to artists and groups who had booked up to two years in advance to use the Princes St gallery for "significant" exhibitions, he said.
The society, representing 80 artists, had been forced to cancel its exhibition of 100 works by 35 artists, which was to have been held in the Princes St gallery this month, he said.
The exhibition would be rescheduled to another venue some time next year.
"This has destroyed the trust that had been built up over the years."
There had been no consultation with artists about the choice of a replacement venue, he said.
The Moray Pl site appeared to have been chosen "by council staff who obviously have no knowledge of gallery requirements".
The society wanted undertakings from the council to consult gallery users about providing a more suitable interim gallery space; returning to the Princes St site as soon as possible; and offering compensation in the form of subsidies on future bookings for those forced to cancel.
However, council strategy and development general manager Kate Styles defended the decision to move the gallery.
The council had faced "limited" options when looking for a temporary gallery space suitable for all groups, she said.
Also, staff had attempted to contact all 20 groups booked to use the Princes St gallery during the summer, including the Otago Peninsula Artists Society.
Each group was to be offered the choice of relocating to the Moray Pl venue or cancelling its exhibitions, she said.
"That is consultation."
She was aware "one or two" groups were unhappy with the new venue, and one performance group had been given non-financial assistance to find another venue.
"I can understand some people weren't happy with the decision we made - they always had the option of being able to cancel their booking," she said.
The community gallery was offered to groups as a "very low rate" to assist the arts, and the same rate applied at its temporary Moray Pl home, she said.
