Arnolfini
Bristol primary exhibitions space also hosts music events.
Known for its gallery space and exhibitions, it's easy to forget that the Arnolfini also hosts some unique music events (1 or 2 a month). Technically the venue excels with its main auditorium boasting a high spec PA, large stage and quality lighting setup.
Unsurprisingly the Arnolfini's (music) programming bears strong links with Bristol's arts scene. While shows are diverse, alt-indie, folk and electronica bookings are undeniably prevalent. Past guests include Dirty Projectors, Polar Bear, Tunng and Tim Hecker.Considering the popularity of experimental, modern music amongst Bristol's art crowd it's worth nothing that such events are popular and frequently sell out well in advance.
Unsurprisingly the Arnolfini's (music) programming bears strong links with Bristol's arts scene. While shows are diverse, alt-indie, folk and electronica bookings are undeniably prevalent. Past guests include Dirty Projectors, Polar Bear, Tunng and Tim Hecker.Considering the popularity of experimental, modern music amongst Bristol's art crowd it's worth nothing that such events are popular and frequently sell out well in advance.
What's On At Arnolfini
— Arnolfini
singer-songwriter
workshops & classes
poetry
— Arnolfini
experimental
noise
electronic
industrial techno
— Arnolfini
experimental
spoken word
Get a feel for Arnolfini
Our recent recommendations for Arnolfini
Three luminaries of Black avant-garde sound link up for an essential dive into post-colonial techno and noise reclamation. Trevor Mathison (of Black Audio Film Collective renown), Gary Stewart and Nkisi present their ongoing radical sonic research practice 'Black Industrialism' via a compelling experimental essay-concert.
Trevor Mathison, Gary Stewart, Nkisi at Arnolfini.
Holly Thomas recalibrates our senses with dance-theatre piece Half Light, blending storytelling, movement, and textured sound to refract her lived experience of visual impairment and parenthood. Eschewing conventional audio description, it conjures a multi-sensory realm where movement is inhabited as deeply through sound as it is through vision.
Holly Thomas: Half Light at Arnolfini.
Two wonders of improvised performance! UK free jazz GOAT Evan Parker spins hypnotic patterns with circular breathing and overtone manipulation, while Trance Map+ – a collaborative trio with Parker, Matt Wright, and Filipe Gomes – blend acoustic instruments with live electronic processing to create shape-shifting soundscapes in real time.
Evan Parker and Trance Map+ at Arnolfini.
Tender and heartfelt, Edhi Alice is a documentary portrait of trans lives in South Korea from trailblazing director/activist Ilrhan Kim. It screens at Arnolfini as part of the Queer East travelling roadshow, offering you a rare chance to see queer cinema from East and Southeast Asian communities across the UK.
Presenting director Ilrhan Kim’s moving documentary portrait of two trans women in South Korea.
Happy 100th Daphne Oram! Three Bristol avant-gardists + peerless polymath Beatrice Dillon unite for a special commission to celebrate the pioneering electronic composer’s centenary. Improv agitator Dali de St Paul links with exploratory A/V practitioner Kathy Hinde and Lia Mazzari’s cello-and-whip centric sonics for a daring feat of experimental artistry.
Celebrating the centenary of Daphne Oram's birth with new musical commissions