Arnolfini's aims

Arnolfini is an educational charity founded in 1961 by artists Jeremy and Annabel Rees. Their aims for Arnolfini then are still relevant today:

"to seek out challenging, often controversial and sometimes relatively unknown artists and performers and to provide a vital showcase for their work."

Although a common enough aim today, at the time this was a rare concept. Arnolfini’s approach has meant presenting and commissioning a unique programme which has featured many now well-known artists at the start of their careers.

In the visual art programme, Arnolfini presents international developments and emerging trends through one-person and group exhibitions, commissions and projects. In the past this has included: Mark Titchner, Gina Pane, Bridget Riley and Liam Gillick, not to mention Paul McCartney’s first exhibition of paintings.

The live art and dance programme features a mix of highly visual, often provocative productions, offering one of the most exciting perspectives on contemporary performance in the UK.

Arnolfini's cinema programme presents the best independent, arthouse and foreign film. Arnolfini also features films selected by exhibiting artists plus screenings of artists' film and video.

Underpinning all this activity is a wide-ranging education programme working with groups of people from all over Bristol to introduce them to contemporary arts and their practice. Link to the Learning section of the website, here, to find out more about current projects.