Arnolfini
Encyclopedia
The Arnolfini is an arts centre
and gallery in Bristol
, England
. It has a programme of contemporary art
exhibitions, live art, 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. A number of festivals are regularly hosted by the gallery. Arnolfini is funded by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England
, with some corporate and individual supporters.
The gallery was founded in 1961 by Jeremy Rees
, and was originally 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 has since been refurbished and redeveloped in 1989 and 2005. Artists whose work has been exhibited, include 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.
. 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 remainder of the building was office space leased out by developers JT Group.
The architect of Bush House was Richard Shackleton Pope
, who constructed first the south part of the warehouse (1831) then extended it to the north in 1835–1836. Its original use was as a warehouse for local iron foundry D., E. & A. Acraman. The building has a Pennant Sandstone exterior with arched ground level entrances and arched windows above. This style of architecture is the first example of the Bristol Byzantine
style which became popular in the 1850s. Later conversion to a tea warehouse added interstital floors.
Originally dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists from the West of England, under the directorship of Barry Barker
(1986–1991) the gallery moved towards a more general spread of contemporary art
. Barker supervised a successful refurbishment of the gallery spaces and café bar by David Chipperfield
. Before development work began, the Arnolfini was attracting over 285,000 visitors per year. Subsequent Directors have been Tessa Jackson (1991–1999), Caroline Collier (1999–2005) and Tom Trevor (since 2005).
As part of a two year development project that finished in September 2005,
the old warehouse has been fully redeveloped, adding an additional attic storey. Arnolfini now occupies the lower three floors and basement, and the upper floors are leased to help pay for the running costs. One tenant is the School of Creative Arts, part of the University of the West of England
. Funding for this development was received from the National Lottery and the Barker-Mill Trust, set up by long term Arnolfini patron Peter Barker-Mill. The original committee to support Arnolfini included Peter Barker-Mill, Ann Hewer, and Lawrence Ogilvie
.
's masterpiece The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) depicting the merchant and arts patron Giovanni Arnolfini
. The Arnolfini Portrait is one of the earliest paintings to assert the presence of the artist within its depiction (an inscription in the middle of the work and a reflection in a mirror on the back wall) and one of Arnolfini's consistent concerns is to explore the role of artist as a witness and recorder of what is around them - contemporary society. The painting is in the National Gallery, London
and it was one of the founder's favourite paintings.
, Richard Long
, Rachel Whiteread
, Paul McCartney
, Jack Yeats and Louise Bourgeois
. Regular 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 Glass Ensemble
, Random Dance, and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
.
There is an active access and education programme, hosting visits from students, workshops with artists, presenting interpretative information and offering some work experience placements within the gallery. project.ARNOLFINI is an online experimental web site with dumps of digital media related to Arnolfini exhibitions and events, past and present, which may be reorganised by any online user, utilising resources on the web site to create new works and projects under a copyleft
license.
Arnolfini also hosts events from outside organisations, including the Encounters Short Film Festival (along with the Watershed Media Centre
), Mayfest, the first Festival of British Independent Cinema, the biennial Time Festival of Live Art and Intrigue and the Bristol Artists Book Events. In April 2010, British Sky Broadcasting
chose Arnolfini to host the second of the three 2010 general election debates.
Arnolfini receives funding from Arts Council England
, and Bristol City Council. According to returns lodged with the Charity Commission
for the year ending in March 2009, Arnolfini had 398,000 visitors in 2008/2009. Income was £2.08 million and expenditure was £2.4 million and the gallery employed 44 people.
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
and gallery in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has a programme of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
exhibitions, live art, 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. A number of festivals are regularly hosted by the gallery. Arnolfini is funded by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
, with some corporate and individual supporters.
The gallery was founded in 1961 by Jeremy Rees
Jeremy Rees
Jeremy Rees was a British arts administrator. He was the founder of the Arnolfini Centre for the Contemporary Arts in Bristol and its director from its opening in 1961 until 1986....
, and was originally located in Clifton
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
. In the 1970s it moved to Queen Square
Queen Square, Bristol
Queen Square is a garden square in the centre of Bristol, England. It was originally a fashionable residential address, but now most of the buildings are in office use....
, 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
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
's 15th century painting, The Arnolfini Portrait. Arnolfini has since been refurbished and redeveloped in 1989 and 2005. Artists whose work has been exhibited, include Bridget Riley
Bridget Riley
Bridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...
, Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread, CBE is an English artist, best known for her sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She won the annual Turner Prize in 1993—the first woman to win the prize....
, Richard Long
Richard Long (artist)
Richard Long is an English sculptor, photographer and painter, one of the best known British land artists. Long is the only artist to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize four times, and he is reputed to have refused the prize in 1984...
and Jack Yeats. Performers have included Goat Island Performance Group
Goat Island (performance group)
Goat Island is a collaborative performance group based in Chicago, USA. It was founded in 1987 and consists of the core group members Matthew Goulish, Bryan Saner, Karen Christopher, Mark Jeffrey and Litó Walkey. The group is directed by Lin Hixson...
, the Philip Glass Ensemble
Philip Glass Ensemble
The Philip Glass Ensemble is a musical group founded by composer Philip Glass in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style...
, and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company is a British dance group based in London and founded in 1988 by the company's artistic director and choreographer, Shobana Jeyasingh. The company has toured internationally including in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, New York and throughout the United Kingdom . It is...
. The gallery reached a new audience in April 2010, when it was chosen to host one of the three 2010 general election debates.
History
Jeremy Rees started Arnolfini with the assistance of his wife Annabel, and the painter John Orsborn in 1961. The original 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 E Shed, the current home of the Watershed Media CentreWatershed Media Centre
Watershed opened in June 1982 as the United Kingdom's first dedicated media centre. Based in former warehouses on the harbourside at Bristol, it hosts three cinemas, a café/bar, events/conferencing spaces, and office spaces for administrative and creative staff. It occupies the former V and W sheds...
. In 1975, Arnolfini moved to its present home in Bush House, occupying two floors of a 19th century Grade II* listed tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
warehouse situated on the side of the Floating Harbour in Bristol city centre
Bristol city centre
Bristol city centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area south of the central ring road and north of the Floating Harbour, bounded north by St Pauls and Easton, east by Temple Meads and Redcliffe, and west by Clifton and Canon's Marsh...
. The remainder of the building was office space leased out by developers JT Group.
The architect of Bush House was Richard Shackleton Pope
Richard Shackleton Pope
Richard Shackleton Pope was a British architect working mainly in Bristol. His father was a clerk of works for Sir Robert Smirke, and Pope succeeded him, also working for C.R. Cockerell...
, who constructed first the south part of the warehouse (1831) then extended it to the north in 1835–1836. Its original use was as a warehouse for local iron foundry D., E. & A. Acraman. The building has a Pennant Sandstone exterior with arched ground level entrances and arched windows above. This style of architecture is the first example of the Bristol Byzantine
Bristol Byzantine
Bristol Byzantine is a variety of Byzantine Revival architecture that was popular in the city of Bristol from about 1850 to 1880.Many buildings in the style have been destroyed or demolished, but notable surviving examples include the Colston Hall, the Granary on Welsh Back, the Carriage Works, in...
style which became popular in the 1850s. Later conversion to a tea warehouse added interstital floors.
Originally dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists from the West of England, under the directorship of Barry Barker
Barry Barker
Barry Barker is a British Contemporary Art Curator and Gallerist. Barker is currently head of the Centre for Contemporary Visual Arts at the University of Brighton...
(1986–1991) the gallery moved towards a more general spread of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
. Barker supervised a successful refurbishment of the gallery spaces and café bar by David Chipperfield
David Chipperfield
Sir David Alan Chipperfield CBE, RA, RDI, RIBA is a British architect, born in London. He has offices in London, Berlin and Milan, and a representative office in Shanghai...
. Before development work began, the Arnolfini was attracting over 285,000 visitors per year. Subsequent Directors have been Tessa Jackson (1991–1999), Caroline Collier (1999–2005) and Tom Trevor (since 2005).
As part of a two year development project that finished in September 2005,
the old warehouse has been fully redeveloped, adding an additional attic storey. Arnolfini now occupies the lower three floors and basement, and the upper floors are leased to help pay for the running costs. One tenant is the School of Creative Arts, part of the University of the West of England
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles north of the city centre...
. Funding for this development was received from the National Lottery and the Barker-Mill Trust, set up by long term Arnolfini patron Peter Barker-Mill. The original committee to support Arnolfini included Peter Barker-Mill, Ann Hewer, and Lawrence Ogilvie
Lawrence Ogilvie
Lawrence Ogilvie was a Scottish plant pathologist.Ogilvie was a UK expert on the diseases of commercially-grown vegetables and wheat from the 1930s to the 1960s....
.
Name
The Arnolfini is named after Jan van EyckJan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
's masterpiece The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) depicting the merchant and arts patron Giovanni Arnolfini
Giovanni Arnolfini
Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini was a merchant from Lucca, a city in Tuscany, Italy.Giovanni, called here di Nicolao or son of Nicolao to distinguish him from his cousin Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini , moved to Bruges in Flanders at an early age to work in the family business and lived there for the...
. The Arnolfini Portrait is one of the earliest paintings to assert the presence of the artist within its depiction (an inscription in the middle of the work and a reflection in a mirror on the back wall) and one of Arnolfini's consistent concerns is to explore the role of artist as a witness and recorder of what is around them - contemporary society. The painting is in the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
and it was one of the founder's favourite paintings.
Today
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 specialist arts bookshop, a reading room that provides reference material for all past exhibitions and wide range of books and catalogues, and a café bar. Entrance to the galleries is free of charge. Notable exhibitions have included works by Bridget RileyBridget Riley
Bridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...
, Richard Long
Richard Long (artist)
Richard Long is an English sculptor, photographer and painter, one of the best known British land artists. Long is the only artist to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize four times, and he is reputed to have refused the prize in 1984...
, Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread, CBE is an English artist, best known for her sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She won the annual Turner Prize in 1993—the first woman to win the prize....
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Jack Yeats and Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois , was a renowned French-American artist and sculptor, best known for her contributions to both modern and contemporary art, and for her spider structures, titled Maman, which resulted in her being nicknamed the Spiderwoman...
. Regular 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
Goat Island (performance group)
Goat Island is a collaborative performance group based in Chicago, USA. It was founded in 1987 and consists of the core group members Matthew Goulish, Bryan Saner, Karen Christopher, Mark Jeffrey and Litó Walkey. The group is directed by Lin Hixson...
, Akram Khan
Akram Khan (dancer)
Akram Khan, MBE is a dancer whose background is rooted in his classical kathak training and contemporary dance.-Career:Khan was born in London into a family of Bangladeshi origin. He began dancing and trained in the classical Indian dance form of Kathak at the age of seven. He studied with Sri...
, the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, the Philip Glass Ensemble
Philip Glass Ensemble
The Philip Glass Ensemble is a musical group founded by composer Philip Glass in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music. The Ensemble's instrumentation became a hallmark of Glass' early minimalist style...
, Random Dance, and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company is a British dance group based in London and founded in 1988 by the company's artistic director and choreographer, Shobana Jeyasingh. The company has toured internationally including in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, New York and throughout the United Kingdom . It is...
.
There is an active access and education programme, hosting visits from students, workshops with artists, presenting interpretative information and offering some work experience placements within the gallery. project.ARNOLFINI is an online experimental web site with dumps of digital media related to Arnolfini exhibitions and events, past and present, which may be reorganised by any online user, utilising resources on the web site to create new works and projects under a copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
license.
Arnolfini also hosts events from outside organisations, including the Encounters Short Film Festival (along with the Watershed Media Centre
Watershed Media Centre
Watershed opened in June 1982 as the United Kingdom's first dedicated media centre. Based in former warehouses on the harbourside at Bristol, it hosts three cinemas, a café/bar, events/conferencing spaces, and office spaces for administrative and creative staff. It occupies the former V and W sheds...
), Mayfest, the first Festival of British Independent Cinema, the biennial Time Festival of Live Art and Intrigue and the Bristol Artists Book Events. In April 2010, British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
chose Arnolfini to host the second of the three 2010 general election debates.
Arnolfini receives funding from Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
, and Bristol City Council. According to returns lodged with the Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
for the year ending in March 2009, Arnolfini had 398,000 visitors in 2008/2009. Income was £2.08 million and expenditure was £2.4 million and the gallery employed 44 people.
External links
- Bush House, Pevsner Architectural GuidesNikolaus PevsnerSir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...