Arnolfini

Arnolfini is Bristol’s International Centre for Contemporary Arts located on the harbourside in the heart of the city.

Woven into the fabric of Bristol since 1961, Arnolfini is an international centre of interdisciplinary contemporary arts, presenting an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of visual art, performance, dance, film, and music.

Housed in a prominent Grade II listed accessible building (Bush House) on the city’s harbourside, Arnolfini is a pioneering, inspiring public space for arts and learning, offering an innovative, inclusive and engaging experience for all. Bush House is also part of the University of the West of England, Bristol’s City Campus with over 300 students and tutors onsite.

Arnolfini has welcomed artists from around world throughout its history – sharing works by Paula Rego, Jannis Kounellis, Grayson Perry, Rachel Whiteread, Peter Doig, Richard Long, Chantal Joffe, Sonia Boyce and Frank Bowling, to name just a few – as well as supporting talent from in and around Bristol.

Alongside its exhibition programme, Arnolfini is a centre of everyday creativity and learning, working with a wide range of community and artistic partners, while continuing to explore and develop new opportunities across the city and beyond. Spaces are used regularly by families, schools and colleges, health and wellbeing groups.

Through sharing a 60-year archive of exhibition slides, publications and an extensive artist book collection, Arnolfini celebrates its heritage and the wide-reaching impact the organisation has had since its foundation.

Since 2019, Director Gary Topp and team have sought to honour Arnolfini’s founder Jeremy Rees’ principle to ‘Enjoy Yourself’, welcoming everyone into the space, and inviting engagement, in any number of ways.