Contact Us Arnolfini is located in the centre of Bristol on Narrow Quay, between the harbourside and Prince Street. If you have any queries or concerns regarding access requirements please contact Arnolfini. Phone: 0117 917 2300 Email: boxoffice@arnolfini.org.uk Web: https://www.arnolfini.org.uk/ 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol, BS1 4QA Sensory Guide
Contents Page Planning Your Visit... 1 Planning Your Visit (Continued).. 2 Entrance... 3 Café Bar... 4 Book Shop... 5 Gallery 1... 6 Gallery 2... 7 Gallery 3... 8 Gallery 4... 9 Gallery 5... 10 Reading Room... 11 Dark Studio... 12 Busy Times: Quietest: Quieter days for the galleries and bookshop are typically Wednesday-Thursday. Quietest: Quieter days for the Café Bar are typically Monday-Thursday. Busiest: Busiest days for the Galleries, Bookshop and Café Bar are typically Friday-Sunday. Opening Times: Galleries: Planning Your Visit Grayson Perry: The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever Open: Tuesday- Sunday 11:00am 6:00pm until 24 th December 2017 Closed: Mondays Relaxed/Early Opening: Open: 10:00am-11:00am on 28 th September and 26 th October Bookshop: Open: Tuesday-Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm Closed: Mondays Café Bar: Open: Monday 9:00am 6:00pm Open: Tuesday-Thursday 9:00am 10:00pm Open: Friday-Saturday 10:00am 11:00pm Open: Sunday 10:00am 6:00pm 1
Planning Your Visit Entrance What should I wear? Arnolfini is a relaxed public space, this means that casual clothing such as jeans and t-shirts are perfectly acceptable clothing to wear. Do I have to queue? Access to Arnolfini is free, there is no need to queue. There are donation boxes around the building if you wish to contribute any money. Can I bring my own food? You can bring your own food, but you cannot eat this in the galleries as food and drink is not allowed near the artworks. If you wish to eat in the Café Bar you must purchase food or drinks there. Who can I ask for help? There are volunteers on all levels in the Arnolfini who wear grey jumpers and are happy to help. For more detailed information please feel free to talk to the Visitor Experience staff sat behind the front desk. What if it all gets too much? There is a Reading Room on lever 2 that is usually quieter. During relaxed openings a calm space will be provided. Ask a member of staff or volunteer to direct you to it. 2 Two sets of automatic doors as you enter. There is a mixture of artificial and natural lighting. Lift and stairs that take you to all floors. Walls painted blue, walls painted yellow and walls painted grey. Writing on the walls gives information about the gallery. A desk with Welcome written above and Arnolfini staff. Wooden benches for people to sit on. An artwork called Long Pig by Grayson Perry. A life sized photograph of Grayson Perry riding a bicycle dressed as his alter ego Claire. A yellow and pink striped bicycle suspended from the ceiling above. People exiting and entering the space. This space often gets very busy. Adults and children talking and laughing. Swish of the automatic doors. Voice over in the lift. Pens being used and typing from computers. Peoples footsteps and pushchairs and wheelchairs. Faint hum of artificial lighting. Noises from the Café Bar and harbourside. Distant sounds from exhibitions. Wooden frame benches. Smooth surface on the information desk. Cold stone floor. The ceramic pig. This is the only art work you can touch. Drinks and food from the Café Bar.
Café Bar Book Shop Walls painted teal and grey. Cakes on the bar counter with bottles lined along the back wall of the bar. Menu written in chalk on a black board across the top of the bar. Framed artwork and posters around walls. Wooden tables and metal chairs around the room. Potted plants around the room and hanging from the ceiling. Adults and children eating and drinking. Large windows looking over the harbourside. Bangs and crashes of cutlery, plates and mugs hitting The coffee machine steaming and banging. Drinks being poured and water running. Metal chairs scraping across the floor. The sound of refrigeration units. The automatic doors sliding open and closed. Adults and children talking, laughing, drinking and eating. Spray bottles being squirted as staff clean the tables. Metal cutlery. Food and drink that has been purchased. The paper material of napkins. Wooden surface of the table tops. Cold metal on the chairs. Coffee, tea, fruit tea and alcohol. Cakes and bread. Shelves with books and magazines stacked on top of each other and side by side. A cash desk where you pay for the books you wish to buy. There are tables with books on around the room. People reading and flicking through books. The harbourside through the windows. People flicking through book pages. The cash register being opened and closed. Soft and loud thuds as people pick up and put down books. Noises from the harbourside, entrance and exhibition. Adults and children talking and laughing. Peoples footsteps and pushchairs and wheelchairs. Books (hard backs and soft covers) and magazines, but only with clean hands. The floor. The smooth surface of the table tops. The smell of new books. 4 5
Gallery 1 Gallery 2 This room is brightly lit with artificial light. Several artworks on the walls, and some on plinths throughout the gallery. A full wall photograph of a landscape and castle in Germany. Volunteers moving about the space. Benched to sit on. White walls. Grey concrete floor. At times there will be people giving tours about the artwork. The concrete floor. The wooden bench. The artworks including the motorbike. If you are not sure whether you are allowed to touch something you can ask the volunteers in grey jumpers. Due to the confined space the smell of other people, their perfume and their Natural and artificial light. 3 large windows. Volunteers moving about the space. A white bench to sit on. White walls. Grey concrete floor 4 large decorated ceramic pots in glass plinths. Large black and white woodcut on the wall. At times there will be people giving tours about the artwork. The artworks. If you are not sure whether you are allowed to touch something you can ask the volunteers in grey jumpers. 6 7
Gallery 3 Gallery 4 Walls are painted white and there is artificial lighting in this space. Large tapestries on the wall. A series of artworks on plinths in glass display cases throughout the room. White wooden benches. Grey concrete floor Walls are painted white and there is artificial and natural lighting in this space. Two artworks on plinths. A photograph on the wall Grey concrete floor At times there will be people giving tours about the artwork. At times there will be people giving tours about the artwork. The artworks. If you are not sure whether you are allowed to touch something you can ask the volunteers in grey jumpers. The artworks. If you are not sure whether you are allowed to touch something you can ask the volunteers in grey jumpers. 8 7
Gallery 5 Reading Room Walls are painted white and there is artificial and natural lighting in this space. An artworks of a figure on a plinth in a glass case. A tapestry on the wall Grey concrete floor At times there will be people giving tours about the artwork. The artworks. If you are not sure whether you are allowed to touch something you can ask the volunteers in grey jumpers. Shelves with books and magazines displayed. Posters with text pasted on the walls. A bench with paper on where you can write your new rules. A display case with sketchbooks. Large sheets of coloured fabrics hanging from the walls and ceiling. Large triangular cushions you can arrange in different ways. Windows providing natural light in the room. People reading and flicking through books. Chairs being moved. Noise from the hallway. Soft and loud thuds as people pick up and put down books and cushions. People flicking through book pages. The hum of artificial lighting. Adults and children talking and laughing. Carpeted footsteps from inside the room. Books (hard backs and soft covers) and magazines, but only with clean hands. The fabric of the hangings and cushions. The smooth surface of the table tops. The smell of new and old books. 10 11
Dark Studio We hope you enjoy your visit! Please let us know what you thought or any ways in which we can make Arnolfini more accessible for you. The room is very dark. The walls and floor are black. Chairs are set out in rows. Films about Grayson Perry are projected on the wall. Flickering light from the films. People sitting watching the films. Phone: 0117 917 2300 Email: boxoffice@arnolfini.org.uk Web: https://www.arnolfini.org.uk/ The soundtrack of the films including talking and music. The hard chairs. 12