Arnolfini : Attaraction of Belfast

The Arnolfini is an art gallery in Bristol, England. The gallery has free entry and is funded by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England.

The gallery occupies Bush House, a 19th century Grade II listed tea warehouse situated on the side of the Floating Harbour in Bristol city centre. As part of a two year development project that finished in September 2005, the old warehouse has been converted from two stories to seven, with the gallery occupying the lower four floors and the upper floors leased to help pay for the gallery. One tenant is the Bristol School of Art, Media and Design, part of the University of the West of England.

The gallery was established in 1961, by Jeremy Rees (1937 - 2003), son of the artist Jean Rees and moved to its current site in 1975 and has established itself as leading centre for contemporary arts. Originally dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists from the West of England under the Directorship of Barry Barker in the 1980’s the gallery moved towards a more general spread of contemporary art. Barker supervised a successful refurbishment of the building by David Chipperfield. Before development work began, the Arnolfini was attracting over 400,000 visitors per year. In addition to the gallery itself, the centre houses a small cinema specialising in independent film, a well-stocked art bookshop, and a popular waterfront café and bar. The Arnolfini is named after Jan van Eyck’s masterpiece The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) depicting the merchant and arts patron Giovanni Arnolfini. The painting is now in the collection of the National Gallery, London.