Art

One of the most distinctive fixtures on the local art scene are Bristol and Bath’s art trails, in which dozens of artists in a particular part of town throw open their doors and exhibit their stuff to all comers across a whole weekend. Great fun. Bristol now has several trails, including Clifton & Redland (Sept), Windmill Hill (Sept), Totterdown (Nov), North Bristol (Nov) and Southville (May). Bath Fringe Festival in May/June operates a similar trail. Check future issues of Venue magazine for more info.

Bristol's practising artists have a strong sense of community based around two or three studio complexes, of which the cavernous former tea-packing factory at Spike Island is the most notable. The Royal West of England Academy offers a combination of classical and more conceptual fare, with the annual open exhibitions offering an insight into its broad remit; Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, meanwhile, houses a respectably wide-ranging municipal collection alongside a steady stream of high-profile visiting shows. Clifton, Hotwells and the Stokes Croft area are all nerve centres of the city's art scene, with a range of smaller galleries now happily bedded down in all three areas. The open-studios/art-trail phenomenon has also taken off: Spike Island, Jamaica Street and the Robinson Building studios are thrown open to the public at least once a year, and there are established annual art trails in Totterdown, Bishopston and Southville.

Bath's gallery scene features a mix of traditional and contemporary spaces. The Victoria Art Gallery and Holburne Museum have a regular calendar of high-profile exhibitions, with the former's summer show one of the highlights of the Bath art calendar. There are also a wealth of smaller downtown galleries like the Beaux Arts, Adam Gallery, the Hotbath and Six Chapel Row, hosting a healthy mix of group and solo shows across all forms and styles: the Hotbath is the showcase for the efforts of the City of Bath college students, while the Beaux Arts' summer show makes ripples nationwide. The leftfield art highlight of the year is Bath Fringe, which, as well as offering a wealth of theatrical and musical gems, turns the entire city into a gigantic gallery every May.

A clutch of new galleries have started up in both cities in the past year, meaning that your choice of viewing is probably wider than ever before. Among the pick of the new breed are Bath's Lotus and edgarmodern galleries, while Bristol's street art scene is alive and well courtesy of the Leeky Gallery on Park St and Bedminster's Northern Lights. Clifton Village is keeping up its reputation as an artistic hotbed with the arrival of two new spaces, Soma and Amoeba, both with an eye on the city's contemporary scene.

Bath Galleries

Adam Gallery 13 John St. Tel: 01225 480406. Web: www.adamgallery.com • Solo shows by established artists. Braque, Heron, Kandinsky and Picasso have all featured of late.

Atrium Gallery The Podium. Tel: 01225 443446. Web: www.atriumgallery.com • Colourful, accessible fare. Prints and posters on sale.

Atticus Arts 11a Queen St. Tel: 01225 44405. Web: www.atticusarts.com • Contemporary paintings, sculptures and ceramics in a charming Georgian townhouse.

Beaux Arts York St. Tel: 01225 464850. Web: www.beauxartsbath.co.uk • Contemporary paintings, sculpture and ceramics from both emerging and recognised artists. High-profile summer show.

Chapel Row Gallery Chapel Row. Tel: 01225 480114. Web: www.chapelrowgallery.com  Light, airy gallery with a regular programme of contemporary and abstract art. One of Bath’s best.

Edgarmodern Bartlett St. Tel: 01225 443746. Web: www.edgarmodern.com • Colourful contemporary fare, often with an edgy, modern or playful theme. One of our favourites.

Holburne Museum of Art Great Pulteney St. Tel: 01225 466669. Web: www.bath.ac.uk/holburne • Fine art collection, plus themed exhibitions. Great cafe in gardens.

Hotbath Gallery Hotbath St. Tel: 01225 328673 • Contemporary art across all media, by emerging talents from City of Bath College and elsewhere.

ICIA University of Bath, Claverton Down. Tel: 01225 386777. Web: www.bath.ac.uk/icia • Exhibitions and residencies with a strongly conceptual theme.

Museum of East Asian Art 12 Bennett St. Tel: 01225 464640. Web: www.meaa.org.uk • Permanent collection, plus temporary exhibitions with a Far Eastern theme.

Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries 5 George St. Tel: 01225 448121. Web: www.rostragallery.co.uk • Abstract and figurative paintings, ceramics, sculpture, glass and prints.

Royal United Hospital Combe Park  Not your typical gallery space, but the RUH has a regular programme of art and photography on its walls.

South Central Web: www.south-central.co.uk • Not strictly a gallery, but an artists’ collective. Irregular exhibitions around town, original and fringe-flavoured.

Victoria Art Gallery Bridge St. Tel: 01225 477772. Web: www.victoriagal.org.uk • Permanent fine art collection. High-profile visiting shows.

Walcot Chapel Walcot St • Sweet, bijou former chapel on Bath’s boho street, with regular programme of local contemporary art.

The White Room 31 Brock St. Tel: 01225 331500. Web: www.thewhiteroomgallery.com  Regular contemporary art. Permanent collection featuring Henry Moore, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley and more.

Bristol Galleries

Arnolfini 16 Narrow Quay. Tel: 0117 929 9191. Web: www.arnolfini.org.uk • Ever-intriguing, big-name calendar of international contemporary art.

Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery Queens Rd , Clifton . Tel: 0117 922 3571. Web: www.bristol.gov.uk/museums • Permanent collection of art and much more. High-profile visiting exhibitions. Calm, beautiful space to wander around at lunchtime.

Bristol Folk House 40a Park St. Tel: 0117 926 2987. Web: www.bristolfolkhouse.co.uk • Cafe and teaching centre that exhibits local artists.

Centrespace 6 Leonard Lane, off Corn St. Web: www.centrespacegallery.com • Short exhibitions by contemporary artists, often experimental in feel. Also strong on street art, artists’ films.

Cut the Mustard St Nicholas Market. Tel: 0117 902 1431  Small, friendly gallery in funky St Nick’s Market. Portraits, abstracts, textiles, etc, decidedly contemporary in feel. All works for sale.

David Simon Gallery 17 Lower Park Row. Tel: 0117 929 2444. Web: www.davidsimongallery.com • Friendly city-centre gallery, specialising in modern landscapes and abstracts.

Grant Bradley Gallery St Peter’s Court, Bedminster Parade. Tel: 0117 963 7673  Innovative, good-quality modern painting and photography, often with a local theme.

Guild 68-70 Park St. Tel: 0117 926 5548. Web: www.bristolguild.co.uk • Broad range of group and solo shows across all media.

Here Stokes Croft. Tel: 0117 942 2222 • Kooky gallery-cum-shop with strong comic/punk/poster art bent. Funky, off-centre, affordable stuff for sale.

Innocent Fine Art 7a Boyces Ave, Clifton. Tel: 0117 973 2614 • Ongoing fine art exhibitions. Clifton and Cornish artists and occasional big names.

Picture This Sydney Row, Spike Island. Tel: 0117 925 7010. Web: www.picture-this.org.uk  Bristol-based ‘ moving image projects agency’, commissioning contemporary art films. It ’s now acquired space to show regular films on site.

Plan 9 Web: www.plan9.org.uk • Innovative artists’ collective and curating body, aiming ‘ to stage high-quality arts events and exhibitions outside the traditional gallery structure’.

Potters Perry Rd. Tel: 0117 330 8445. Web: www.pottersbristol.com  Regular exhibitions at this potters’ co-op. Quirky, well-crafted stuff – worth a look.

Pro Cathedral Pro Cathedral Lane , Clifton . Web: www.artspacelifespace.com  See Theatre listings.

Room 212 212 Gloucester Rd. Web: www.room212.co.uk  Small gallery for hire by local artists.

Royal West of England Academy

Queens Rd , Clifton . Tel: 0117 973 5129. Web: www.rwa.org.uk • Huge, prestigious gallery with year-round exhibitions. Annual autumn Open is probably the highlight.

SOMA Boyces Ave , Clifton . Tel: 0117 973 9838 • Contemporary prints, paintings and drawings, many for sale.

Spike Island Cumberland Rd. Tel: 0117 929 2266 • Artist-led centre. Vast white rooms host artists’ studios, exhibitions and a busy programme of residencies. Great cafe.

Station Redcliffe Quay. Web: www.stationbristol.org.uk • Fiercely individual art space, a tiny former fireboat station hosting occasional contemporary and abstract shows.

The Tobacco Factory North St / Raleigh Rd, Southville. Tel: 0117 902 0344. Web: www.tobaccofactory.com • Regular photography, street and digital art shows at this bar-cum-theatre.

Watershed 1 Canons Rd. Tel: 0117 925 3845. Web: www.watershed.co.uk • Photography, digital and multimedia art, plus digital cafe, cinema and workshops.

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