The Arnolfini in Bristol, named after Jan van Eyck's masterpiece 'The Arnolfini Portrait' depicting arts patron, Giovanni Arnolfini, is one of Europe's leading centres for the contemporary arts, with an international artistic programme presenting new and experimental visual arts, live art, performance, dance and cinema. It was established "to seek out challenging, often controversial and sometimes relatively unknown artists and performers and to provide a vital showcase for their work" Arnolfini's move to the Narrow Quay site in 1975 proved a catalyst in attracting other businesses to the then neglected dockside; the revitalised waterfront is now a focal point for Bristol's social and cultural life. The Arnolfini premises have been closed to the public since September 2003 for major expansion and renovation. The project is led by architects Snell Associates and artist, Susanna Heron, to create new arts and education facilities.
Re-opening in June 2005, it will have more public space overall, improved and extended galleries and project spaces, improved bookshop and cafe bar and more opportunities to experience the contemporary arts and to participate in a range of creative experimentation. Scala's Art Spaces series, celebrating the architecture of buildings containing art and design, is the ideal series for the first book on the history and development of the Arnolfini, which will be published to mark the reopening of the gallery in June. With a concise, informative text written by experts at the gallery and fascinating images comparing the "then and now" and all stages of the transformation, it is the perfect memento and will appeal to architects, artists, contemporary art lovers, historians, and visitors and inhabitants of Bristol's dynamic art centre.
