Southampton City Art Gallery

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Southampton City Art Gallery

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The gallery opened in April 1939 in Southampton’s Civic Centre and attracts art-lovers and curious am
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15/10/2026

Meet the artist behind our new exhibition, Strata

Join landscape artist Jeremy Gardiner on Thursday 29 October as we celebrate the opening of his new exhibition at Southampton City Art Gallery.

Jeremy will discuss his practice and his decades-long fascination with Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, followed by the opportunity to visit the exhibition preview after the talk.

Featuring paintings created across different seasons and weather conditions, Strata captures the changing textures and geology of this remarkable coastline.

📅 Thursday 29 October
⏰ 5–6pm
📍 Southampton City Art Gallery

Hear from the artist. Then see the exhibition for yourself.

DM us for more information!

14/10/2026

LAST CHANCE TO SEE ❗

Sunday 18 October is your final opportunity to visit two brilliant exhibitions at Southampton City Art Gallery before they close.

The Avebury Papers is a four-year UKRI funded project to digitise, explore, and share the multimedia archive of Avebury’s Neolithic origins and ongoing investigation. To encourage creative reuse of the archive and inspire new stories, The Avebury Papers Project commissioned two artists, Gayle Chong Kwan and Kialy Tihngang to respond to the wealth of material making up the Avebury Papers.

From the prehistoric sites of Avebury and Wessex to the streets of Southampton during the Blitz, the archaeologist O.G.S. Crawford transformed our understanding of the landscape through groundbreaking aerial photography. His images revealed histories hidden in plain sight. Crawford’s Southampton photographs record a city in transition after 45,000 buildings were destroyed. Shown together for the first time, these images tell the story of changing landscapes, accompanied by Crawford’s own words.

Don't miss your chance to experience these stunning exhibitions before they leave our gallery walls. We'll certainly miss seeing these inspiring works on display.

📅 Ends Sunday 18 October
📍 Southampton City Art Gallery
Free entry for all

13/10/2026

Discover the joy of gouache with the brilliant Emma Morrissey.

Working alongside Emma, you'll get to experiment with colour, layering and brush techniques with guidance and instruction on hand. We will take our inspiration from the artwork of John Armstrong – on display in the art gallery as part of the exhibition ‘Art Then’ to create your own still life using reference images.

📅 Saturday 17 October, 2–5pm
📍 Southampton City Art Gallery

Book here https://southamptonmuseumsandgallery.co.uk/events/gouache-impressionism-oct2026/?source=scag or DM us for more information

12/10/2026

What a weekend! Our Sunday opening began in style and we were delighted to welcome actors and writers Celia Imrie and Fidelis Morgan for an afternoon of anecdotes and adventures. What a treat! The event celebrated the release of their latest book, Celia Imrie's memoir The Elegant Hustler.

Thank you to everyone who came, to October books for their brilliant pop up bookshop and of course to the authors themselves!

Here they are pointing out our events brochure, full of plenty more Sunday talks and activities. Visit our website and select What's On to find out more.

10/10/2026

**NEW EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT**

Artworks delivered. Now it’s time for a new exhibition in The Foyer. We’re delighted to welcome Katie Barons to The Foyer at Southampton City Art Gallery with their exhibit "Where Light Falls".

Katie Barons is an artist whose paintings are rooted in fleeting encounters with light, water and landscape, hovering between observed reality and abstraction while celebrating the material possibilities and expressive freedom of paint.

Working from direct experience of the natural environment, she explores transient moments in which atmosphere, movement and light briefly converge. Her paintings offer subjective responses to sensation, perception and memory, allowing images to evolve through gesture, colour and surface.

Come along, discover Katie’s work and get to know the artist behind our latest exhibition.

Free entry, just walk in. Open now until 6 December!

09/10/2026

Don’t miss Celia Imrie in Southampton this Sunday! 🎭

Spend an afternoon with Celia Imrie and Fidelis Morgan as they share tales of travel, friendship and adventures around the world at Southampton City Art Gallery!

📅 Sunday 11 October, 2–3pm
📍 Southampton City Art Gallery
🎟️ £13

Search our website for Celia Imrie or DM us for more information. See you there!

02/10/2026

Only a few spaces left! 👀

This Saturday, artist Kialy Tihngang joins us for a special performance lecture exploring the research behind neolithic origins through sound, images and video.

Expect an intriguing exploration of memory, migration and myth.

📅 Saturday 3 October, 2–3pm
🎟️ Free admission, but booking is essential
Book your spot: https://southamptonmuseumsandgallery.co.uk/events/performance-lecture-with-kialy-tihngang/

This event is free, thanks to funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council - however we do welcome donations.

29/09/2026

LAST CHANCE TO SEE ❗

Sunday 4 October is your final opportunity to visit two brilliant exhibitions at Southampton City Art Gallery before they close.

British Surrealism and Beyond marks 90 years since the landmark International Surrealist Exhibition in London, bringing together works by key figures from the movement alongside artists inspired by its lasting influence.

A Tattoo Machine & A Thousand Stories showcases the work of Southampton-based tattoo artist Gareth Lord, exploring image-making, identity and human connection through a medium that has undergone remarkable cultural transformation in recent decades.

Don't miss your chance to experience these stunning exhibitions before they leave our gallery walls. We'll certainly miss seeing these inspiring works on display.

📅 Ends Sunday 4 October
📍 Southampton City Art Gallery

🖼 Paul Nash, The Archer, oil on canvas, 1930-42
🖼 Gareth Lord, Hannya Mask
📸 Joe Low Photography

28/09/2026

Frightfully good family fun awaits this October half-term 👻

Discover hands-on workshops, family activities and Halloween-inspired fun as imagination takes centre stage at Southampton City Art Gallery, SeaCity Museum and Tudor House.

See what's on offer https://seacitymuseum.co.uk/october-half-term/

25/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who made last night’s preview of Art Then! such a brilliant evening. It was a pleasure to celebrate the new exhibition with you and share the stories behind the works. A big thank you to the exhibitions team who have worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to get this done.

The Art Then! exhibition is officially open tomorrow from 10am, Saturday 26 September. You are all invited to come on by and discover the art that helped shape the story of Modern British Art.

Address

Commercial Road
Southampton
SO147LP

Telephone

+442380834536

Website

http://www.southamptoncityartgallery.com/

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