by Liz Allen

Created on: August 11, 2008   Last Updated: January 16, 2010

Visiting Bristol recently on a decidedly damp Saturday afternoon, we were looking for places to spend some time inside. Having walked down the steep slope of Park Street and not being in any hurry to go back up, I suggested that the Arnolfini arts centre might not be too much further to walk. Situated on Bristol's Harbourside, it is easily reached by walking along the quayside from The Centre. From the south you can get there by crossing the swing bridge on Prince Street. Admission is free, so it is definitely worth a visit if you are interested in the arts.

The Arnolfini has no permanent collection of artworks, so exhibitions change from time to time. There is currently (August 2008) a display described as an 'interactive shopping experience' entitled 'Far West'. Although not exactly my cup of tea, there was a degree of variety and an opportunity for visitors to participate in certain sections of the show - a particularly good idea during the school holidays.

On the ground floor, for example, visitors can create paper fruits from templates; these can then be purchased or exchanged for a real piece of fruit. The paper fruits are exhibited in a stall similar to the way they would be in a market. In the same gallery, a number of unfinished paintings by artist Lui Ding are on sale at a price of GBP100 each; the idea is to complete the painting at home in whatever way you wish. Most of them featured trees or parts of a landscape. I'm afraid we didn't buy one, but it's a fascinating concept.

One of the busiest and apparently most popular areas of the exhibition was Yoko Ono's 'Mend Piece for Merry England' on the first floor. Donations of unwanted or broken crockery are handed in by visitors, who are then invited to create a new item or miniature work of art from the fragments that are available. A gift is offered in exchange, although I'm afraid I don't know what this would be. The creations made by visitors are put on display and are worth taking a close look at: there are the purely abstract pieces amidst attempts at creating fish, faces, bodies, all sorts. In the same gallery, we admired Philippe Parreno and Pierre Huyghe's 'Skin of Light', a neon depiction of AnnLee, a character originally created by Japanese Manga illustrators.

The Arnolfini spans three floors and has a series of small but well-lit galleries whose walls are normally painted white. (Some of them are currently covered in a garish blue wallpaper featuring over-sized bunches of flowers as part

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>