Finally Complete

We're delighted to be able to say that, thanks to your generous support, we've now completed the work outlined in our Art Happens ‘Help Us Create an Art Space for All' crowd-funder campaign.

As you may know, the RWA re-opened to the public on 2 May following the wider £4.5m Light & Inspiration capital project. It was a gargantuan effort from the entire team, along with our building contractors, Beard, to get everything ready to enable us to let the public in, and the project really went to the wire. However, since then our visitor numbers and feedback about the transformed RWA have been very pleasing, especially from those groups of people we've tried really hard to engage.

“It's so great to see this institution properly representing the vitality it possesses through the fabric of the building”. Comment from Visitor Book

“I don't like art museums, but this one was cool!”  Comment from Visitor Book

We’ve welcomed over 17,000 people to the building, many of whom have used the new, free Family Room. With your help we’ve been able to kit it out with child-size chairs and tables, and a wide selection of creative tools and materials, including a range of costumes to try on, ranging from famous artists to the lion and unicorn from the Royal crest. The colours on the walls have been chosen by children with autism to create a calming environment, and we’ve also been able to make up Sensory Bags, which include headphones to block out noise that might distress the children.

One guest in particular enjoyed their visit to the Family Room, but didn’t need to dress up in the costumes we’ve provided for children to use... Grayson Perry CBE RA came to Bristol on 16 June for a special fundraising dinner in support of the RWA.

Since re-opening, our new Changing Places toilet facility has enabled us to welcome a wide range of people who've never been able to visit an Art Gallery before.

For example, we've started a programme of ‘Happy Monday' sessions with Venturer's Academy, the first state funded school for children with a diagnosis of autism. Taking place when we're closed to the public on Monday mornings, these tailored activities are followed in the afternoons by sessions for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities from Briarwood School.

We were also able to complete a project with disabled people from Bristol Community Links with a visit by them to the RWA - their first experience of an Art Gallery - where they enjoyed seeing their own work exhibited, as well as the exhibitions elsewhere in the building.

“The obvious care and attention which has gone into its design has made such a difference to our experience of supporting group visits from our adult day services. We have always been welcomed to the RWA but these recent access changes and the consideration to disabled visitors makes people feel even more included and valued”

Louise Briggs; Team Manager, Bristol Community Links Day Services, Bristol City Council.

We've tried very hard to make the RWA as accessible to everyone as we possibly can, and it's still a work in progress, so thank you again to all those who made this possible - it really couldn't have been done without your generous support.

We hope that we will be able to welcome you all to the RWA sooner or later. If you get the chance, drop by and come and say ‘hi' - we'd love to see you. Our current exhibition, Earth: Digging Deep in British Art runs until 11 September, followed by the 169 Annual Open Exhibition, from 8 October 2022.