Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is approaching its 200th birthday.  Over that period it has moved from the small collection of a private institution to a public museum with approximately two million objects and specimens.  The museum displays exhibits of art, archaeology, world cultures and natural history. It attracts about 460,000 visitors per year and is part of a large service with five museum sites which between them attract over one million visitors per year.

There are nine curatorial departments, which care for world-class collections.  These include important collections of ancient glass, African textiles, Chinese ceramics and glass, Jurassic fossils, Egyptology, Mexican archaeology, Renaissance paintings, contemporary international art, local history and natural history.  The collections of Geology, Eastern Art and Bristol History hold ‘Designated’ status as being of national/international importance.

The museum service attracts a wide range of audiences, including 45,000 school pupils a year, and the staff work hard to attract new audiences and involve local communities in both participating in and helping to create our vibrant and eclectic programme of exhibitions and events.