Arts and culture venues and attractions to support in the Bristol Creative Industries member community
Arts and culture is an crucial part of the economy in Bristol and the wider region. Bristol Council research showed the city’s culture sector generated £892.9 million in economic impact in 2023/24, including £122.4 million in social value.
We are proud to have several arts and culture organisations in the Bristol Creative Industries member community. Here are the BCI arts and culture members you can visit and support. To join them as a member, sign up here.
Arnolfini is Bristol’s International Centre for Contemporary Arts, located on the city’s historic harbourside.
For over 60 years, the gallery has presented world-class contemporary art through exhibitions, performance, dance, film and music. From exhibitions to workshops, live events to a drink shared with friends, Arnolfini is a place where artists, audiences and communities come together.
Arnolfini’s BCI profile | Latest exhibitions and events
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Bristol Beacon is a music charity, renowned venue and award-winning music education hub. It runs a city-wide programme of live music, creative learning opportunities and community engagement.
Bristol Beacon has an artistic programme of music performance which includes over 800 gigs and festivals per year plus 60 free performances and six major festivals to an audience of over 300,000.
It also runs a programme of creative learning reaching over 30,000 young people every year and offers support for creatives.
Bristol Beacon’s BCI profile | Latest events
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Bristol Cathedral is part of the Church of England and is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol in the Diocese of Bristol. Originally founded in 1140 as St Augustine’s Abbey, it became Bristol Cathedral or the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in 1542 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Bristol Cathedral runs a programme of services and events focused on worship, music and art.
Bristol Cathedral’s BCI profile | Latest services and events
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Bristol Zoological Society is a conservation and education charity which owns and operates Bristol Zoo Project. The society leads ground-breaking conservation and research projects spanning four continents across the world. Its mission is Saving Wildlife Together.
Bristol Zoological Society’s BCI profile | Latest events
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Circomedia is a world-renowned centre for contemporary circus and physical theatre based in the UK’s circus city of Bristol.
As an academy, it offers a unique and comprehensive range of courses at BTEC, foundation, bachelors and diploma level. Circomedia also showcase bold and innovative live work at its city-centre performance venue, runs a popular youth circus, leads recreational classes for all ages, takes outreach projects into our local communities, and welcomes the local community for special events.
Circomedia’s BCI profile | Latest events
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The Curzon Cinema & Arts in Clevedon has long been established as both a cultural and heritage asset.
Built in 1912, it is one of the longest running independent cinemas, housed in a purpose-built Grade II listed building which retains original features whilst utilising the latest cinema and events tech.
Curzon Cinema & Arts’ BCI profile | Latest films and events
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Founded in 1996, Design West is a centre of excellence for design and placemaking. Its mission is to inspire the public, politicians and professionals across the built environment to design, better, healthier, places to live, work and relax.
The organisation’s programmes inspire, inform and involve people in the design of the world around them. It works across sectors and society to innovate, co-design and challenge.
Design West’s BCI profile | Latest events
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The RWA, Bristol’s first art gallery founded in 1844, brings world-class visual art from around the world to the South West.
Through its extensive programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, talks and lectures, the RWA is committed to providing great art for everybody, and to promoting the understanding and enjoyment of art for the widest possible audience.
Located in a spectacular Grade II* listed building in the heart of the city, the RWA is the UK’s only Royal Academy of Art housed in its own, original, purpose-built gallery.
RWA’s BCI profile | Latest exhibitions and events
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Spike Island is an international centre for the development of contemporary art and design, located close to Bristol’s harbourside.
Spike Island offers visitors a year-round programme of internationally relevant exhibitions, events and activities, as well as providing working space for artists, designers and creative businesses.
Spike Island’s BCI profile | Latest events and exhibitions
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St George’s Bristol is a world-class, independent music venue in the heart of Bristol. Its 580-seat concert hall was converted from a 200-year-old Georgian church, and is a truly special space which welcomes performances from amazing local, national and international artists.
You might know St Geoge’s for music, but it has so much more to offer. As well as a space for music, it’s a space for performance, learning, spoken word and ideas. The venue offers a philosophy season, events for children and families onsite and across the city, lunchtime concerts, plus author talks and comedians.
It also has an award-winning contemporary pavilion-style extension housing a café bar and Glass Studio space.
St George’s Bristol BCI profile | Latest events
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Tobacco Factory Theatres is a much-loved independent theatre and arts charity, located in a re-purposed factory and operating two flexible theatre spaces.
Through a varied and highly regarded artistic programming, professional development work and creative engagement department, it uses culture to bring about positive change in our community. The theatres regularly welcome 70,000 people through their doors each year.
Tobacco Factory Theatres’ BCI profile | Latest shows
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Wake the Tiger is the world’s first amazement park®, a fantastical interactive art experience in Bristol.
The out-of-this-world immersive experience is a self-guided, walk-through labyrinth of exploration which begins in an abandoned paint factory before journeying into the Dream Factory, and finally transcending to the OUTERverse.
For both the young and young at heart, showcasing more than 40 spaces, it encourages visitors to discover and interact with the incredible art, and for those who value a deeper connection, dive into the story behind this unbelievably, challenged alternate world.
Wake the Tiger’s BCI profile | Latest events
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Opened in 1982 as the UK’s first media centre, Watershed, on Bristol harbourside, is three cinemas, a large, light and airy cafe and a suite of flexible conference and events spaces housed in a Grade II listed, fully accessible building.
This vibrant and beautiful building is complemented by the Pervasive Media Studio, a separate research and development space where creativity and technology meet.
Watershed’s BCI profile | Latest films and events
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We The Curious is an educational charity and a leading UK science centre. It produces experiences that bring people together to play, get creative with science and explore different ideas.
Every year, the venue welcome thousands of visitors to its building on Bristol harbourside, including schoolchildren, young people, community groups and other local charities and not-for-profits.
It also works with local partners and schools to offer out and about activities, work experience programmes and bespoke opportunities for individuals who wouldn’t normally feel like science is for them.
We the Curious’ BCI profile | Latest events
Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network that supports the region's creative sector to learn, grow and connect, driven by the common belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone.
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