Be challenged by the year-round schedule of dynamic contemporary arts exhibitions and programs at the Arnolfini. Discover the work of notable British, Irish and worldwide artists. Attend film and theater festivals and admire views of Bristol’s historic Floating Harbour from the Arnolfini’s in-house café.
The center opened in 1961 and moved to its present home inside a 19th-century tea warehouse in 1975. Its original mission was to showcase the talent of artists from the West of England. In 2016 it was a finalist in the Art Fund Museum of the Year, the winners of which are awarded the world’s biggest museum prize.
The gallery is named after Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait, a painting that portrays the affluent Tuscan merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife.
Touring visual arts exhibitions spread across the former storehouse’s three floors. Previous exhibitors include the English Op art painter Bridget Riley, Irish illustrator Jack Yeats and music legend Paul McCartney. There’s a space for dance shows, experimental concerts and the spoken word by both national and international performers. See avant garde theatrical productions during Mayfest and movies by up-and-coming filmmakers at September’s Encounters Film Festival.
Literature fans might be interested in the monthly writer talks called the Arnolfini Book Club. Browse a variety of independent book titles in addition to gifts, magazines, periodicals and posters at the gallery’s bookshop. Don’t miss the Poems out Front, which is a changing series of poems displayed on a window outside the shop.
Finish your visit at the gallery café, which is run by an award-wining local microbrewery. The window seats afford great views of the Floating Harbour and the historic maritime machinery outside the M Shed museum.
Located in the Bristol Harbourside district, the Arnolfini is just a short walk from Queen Square. Its close to bus stops and passenger ferry piers and there’s a metered car park nearby. The opening hours and exhibition admission fees vary. You can find more information listed on the Arnolfini official website.
