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The Great Britain Guide

Galleries · South West England

Arnolfini

In or near Bristol.

ModernFree admission♿ Wheelchair accessible4.2 · 367 Google reviews

Arnolfini — arts centre and gallery in Bristol, UK.

Arnolfini, galleries in South West England

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h
Best time of year
Year-round
Nearest railway station
Princes Wharf · 0.1 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Wheelchair accessible

Getting there & planning your visit

To visit Arnolfini, you can reach it via the nearest railway station, Princes Wharf, which is just 0.1 km away. The postcode for sat-nav is BS1 6JJ, and the gallery is wheelchair accessible. Entry details are not provided.

Directions on Google Maps →

About

Arnolfini is an art gallery in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1961. Address: BS1 6JJ. Wikidata describes it as: "arts centre and gallery in Bristol, UK". Coordinates: 51.4492°, -2.5972°.

Photo gallery

Official information

Arnolfini is a contemporary arts venue located in Bristol, showcasing a diverse range of exhibitions, performances, and workshops. It has a rich history of presenting the work of numerous artists from around the world since its founding in 1961.

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Severn Estuary SSSI

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a specialist art bookshop and a café bar. Educational activities are undertaken and experimental digital media work supported by online resources. Festivals are hosted by the gallery. The gallery was founded in 1961 by Jeremy Rees, and was located in Clifton. In the 1970s it moved to Queen Square, before moving to its present location, Bush House on Bristol's waterfront, in 1975. The name of the gallery is taken from Jan van Eyck's 15th-century painting The Arnolfini Portrait. Arnolfini was refurbished and redeveloped in 1989 and 2005. Artists whose work has been exhibited include Paul McCartney, Bridget Riley, Rachel Whiteread, Richard Long and Jack Yeats. Performers have included Goat Island Performance Group, the Philip Glass Ensemble, and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company. The gallery reached a new audience in April 2010, when it was chosen to host one of the three 2010 general election debates.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

, Howard Hodgkin, Nigel Greenwood and Barry Barker (who later became director)]] Jeremy Rees started Arnolfini with the assistance of his wife Annabel, and the painter John Orsborn in 1961. The location was above a bookshop in the Triangle in Clifton, Bristol. In 1968, Rees was able to give up his teaching job and with the aid of private funding and Arts Council funding relocated the gallery to Queen Square, then to W Shed, later the home of the Watershed Media Centre. In 1975, Arnolfini moved to its present home in Bush House, occupying two floors of a 19th-century Grade II* listed tea warehouse situated on the side of the Floating Harbour in Bristol City Centre. The first two simultaneous…

Visiting

Arnolfini has three floors of galleries, a specialist arts bookshop, a cinema which can also be used as a performance space for theatre, live art, dance and music, a reading room that provides reference material for all past exhibitions, books and catalogues, and a café bar. Entrance to the galleries is free of charge. Notable exhibitions have included works by Bridget Riley, Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread, Paul McCartney, Angus Fairhurst and Louise Bourgeois. Events include poetry and film festivals, live art and dance performances, lectures and jazz and experimental music concerts, including Bodies in Flight, Goat Island Performance Group, Akram Khan, the London Sinfonietta, the Philip…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.4492, -2.5972
Parish
Bristol, City of, unparished area
Postcode
BS1 6JJ
Parliamentary constituency
Bristol Central
Established
1961
Annual visitors
~500,000/year
Nearest railway station
Princes Wharf0.1 km
Opening
Fr,Sa 10:00-17:00

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Arnolfini?
Arnolfini is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode BS1 6JJ), in the parish of Bristol, City of, unparished area.
What is Arnolfini?
Arnolfini — arts centre and gallery in Bristol, UK.
How do I get to Arnolfini?
The nearest railway station is Princes Wharf, about 0.1 km away. Drivers can use postcode BS1 6JJ.
When was Arnolfini built?
Built or established in 1961.
Is Arnolfini a protected site?
Yes — Arnolfini is part of the Severn Estuary SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
How do I get to Arnolfini?
The nearest railway station is Princes Wharf, about 0.1 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode BS1 6JJ.
How busy is Arnolfini?
Arnolfini draws around 500,000 visitors a year.