Art / News
RWA reopening after multi-million pound transformation
Bristol’s oldest gallery, closed since 2021 for renovation, is about to reopen its doors to showcase an entirely new space made “for everyone”.
The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) opens on Monday following a multi-million pound transformation project – the biggest in its illustrious 175-year history.
As well having a cafe inside run by Spicer+Cole, the gallery is now a proudly inclusive space – heralded as “the most accessible gallery from London to St Ives”.
is needed now More than ever
The RWA’s refurbishment includes a new lift a new lift that can carry four wheelchair users and their carers, a quiet room for visitors with sensory requirements or autism and a family activity space. It also now has a dedicated changing places facility so that people with profound and severe disabilities can “enjoy art on equal terms”.
As well as making the space more inclusive, the extensive restoration project has addressed urgent structural repairs.
The RWA officially reopens to the public with a landmark exhibition called Me, Myself, I: Artists; Self-Portraits – exploring the historical context of selfie culture.
Featured artists include Madame Yeonde, Lucian Freud, Grayson Perry, Tracey Emin, Sonia Boyce, Sir Anthony Gormley, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Harold Offeh, Zineb Sedira and Gillian Wearing. The exhibition is curated by the internationally lauded artistic director, curator and writer Tessa Jackson OBE.
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Jackson said: “Whilst the selfie is a relatively recent phenomenon in our visual culture, our fascination with self-representation has existed for hundreds of years in art history.
“Self-portraits reveal so much about the artist and how they wished to be seen, as well as the society they lived in and the preoccupations of their time.”
Speaking about her pride at the RWA’s hotly-anticipated reopening, director Alison Bevan said: “The transformation of the RWA has been 20 years in the making and the biggest change to our building in over a century. Without this work, we would have faced the risk of having to close our doors permanently.”
She added: “We now have beautiful, world-class galleries that everyone can enjoy, and we are absolutely thrilled to be throwing our doors open once again and welcoming visitors old and new back in.”
Tickets are on sale for the exhibition, running until June 19, at rwa.org.uk/whatson
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read more: First look at £4.1 million restoration of landmark Bristol gallery
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