Things to do > Culture

Capital for culture

Are you a culture vulture? Excited by cutting edge art, theatre, music and dance? You won’t be disappointed by Nottinghamshire, home to Europe’s largest number of artists per capita. Our city and county is alive with cultural excitement.

Nottingham Castle’s museum hosts both traditional and modern collections. A rich programme varies from old masters like Turner to modern icons like Andy Warhol. Summer 2005 saw a stunning collection of Pre-Raphaelite art at the Castle. It was the only venue outside the United States to display this exhibition of influential 19th century work.

It was a sign of Nottingham’s increasing cultural profile that the city was chosen to host British Art Show 6 in spring 2006. The show takes place every five years and visits just four cities across the UK. Until early June 2006, the Sideshow festival - an artist-led event showcasing regional excellence - ran alongside the British Art Show.

British Art Show 7

Hayward Touring Exhibitions have announced that Lisa Le Feuvre and Tom Morton will curate British Art Show 7, which will open in October 2010 in Nottingham. In Nottingham the show will open over three venues: Nottingham Contemporary, New Art Exchange, and Nottingham Castle Museum. Following its appearance at the Hayward Gallery in London, it will then travel to Glasgow (the CCA and Tramway Gallery) and then to Plymouth, where it will be spread over Plymouth Arts Centre, The Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery and Peninsula Arts. Find out more... 

Nottingham’s Angel Row Gallery was previously the East Midlands’ key contemporary arts venue. It's closure in September 2007 was in preparation for the opening of the new Nottingham Contemporary. The much anticipated gallery and exciting new independent organisation is housed in a brand new iconic building, located in the Lace Market area of Nottingham. See below for latest news...

And further afield, Rufford Country Park has gained a national and international reputation for its innovative craft exhibitions and studio ceramics. Annually in June, the international festival of ceramics featuring the work of over one hundred potters and ceramic artists, takes place against the scenic backdrop of Rufford Abbey.

The Harley Gallery in Worksop boasts three exhibition spaces dedicated to the display of contemporary visual art and craft. And Thoresby Gallery in Newark houses a unique collection of work by Marie-Louise Pierrepont. She lived at Thoresby Hall until her death in 1984 and explored a range of artistic styles throughout the twentieth century.  

Nottingham Playhouse is notorious for pushing the boundaries of theatre, performing arts, dance and drama. This spring they welcome prestigious companies like the Richard Alston Dance Company and the Gob Squad as well as comedians like Jimmy Carr. But make sure you take the time to visit the theatre’s forecourt and take in the Sky Mirror sculpture by Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor

Our Theatre Royal regularly hosts world-class performances like the St Petersburg Ballet. Likewise, the Royal Concert Hall showcases a series of classical orchestra and opera throughout the year. The Bolshoi Ballet featuring over 200 of the world’s greatest dancers, together with the equally famous Bolshoi Orchestra, performed here for the first time in April 2006.

In the summer months, outdoor theatre provides unrivalled entertainment, such as Newstead Abbey’s Summer Stage. The open-air theatre company Illyria put on plays like Shakespeare’s Tempest and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice last summer.

For film lovers, Broadway Media Centre is a dedicated home for independent and world cinema. They’ve established an international reputation for film exhibition, production and festivals. Or visit Screen Room - the world’s smallest cinema with just 22 seats.

And we stage some cutting-edge festivals every year. nottdance and the NOW Festival take place at a number of venues throughout the city. They offer inspiring collections of performance, theatre, dance, visual and live art, installation and music.

Meanwhile Trampoline started life as Nottingham's first regular platform event - presenting cutting edge and seriously intentioned art in an informal atmosphere. It showcases the work of artists working with digital video, multimedia installations, live streamed performance and electronic sculpture.

• museums
• galleries

If you're staying over in the city then check out our list of approved Nottingham hotels. Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest are great options for UK family holidays and our Robin Hood breaks website has everything you need. For that home away from home try our range of Nottingham bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) or our approved Nottingham holiday cottages.

Nottingham Contemporary officially opened on 14 November

During the opening weekend, over 6,000 people visited the David Hockney 1960 - 1968: A Marriage of Styles and the Frances Stark exhibitions. It is the first time that Hockney’s early work has been brought together for almost 40 years. The exhibition includes his iconic Californian work A Bigger Splash, one of the world’s most famous paintings. Press reviews included:

“Nottingham makes a bigger splash. The city’s smart new contemporary gallery opens with a tremendous show of David Hockney’s great early paintings...the work is an inspiration and so is the show...Nottingham Contemporary could hardly have made a better start.” The Observer

“New gallery, new show: a thrilling David Hockney exhibition launches the UK’s latest art space...the new kid on the block among the public art galleries currently revitalising the East Midlands is Nottingham Contemporary, launching today with an exhibition that announces a distinctive, exciting national presence...I wanted this show to go on for ever.” Financial Times

“Joyous, funny and inventive, David Hockney’s early work was his bravest and his best. What better way to launch Britain’s newest art gallery”. The Guardian

“This exhibition surely counts as a coup: a testimony to the calibre of an arts outpost that comes complete with 740 sq metres of gallery space, a magnificent subterranean performance theatre...This is a show to return the viewer to the first freshness of Hockney’s vision. It represents a vibrant start for this new museum." 4 out of 5 stars in The Times.

MAJOR HOCKNEY EXHIBITION TO OPEN NEW UK GALLERY - HIGHLIGHT OF AUTUMN ARTS CALENDAR

A major exhibition of over 6O works by David Hockney from national and international museum collections will open Nottingham Contemporary, one of the most important new spaces for art outside London, designed by leading architects Caruso St John. The public opening is on Saturday 14 November 2009.

The exhibition will re-examine Hockney's work 1960-1968, his early years in London and Los Angeles, in the context of art today. It is the first time the early work - finishing with the iconic Californian painting A Bigger Splash - has been brought together since the Whitechapel retrospective of 1970, nearly 40 years ago.

The exhibition will occupy two of Nottingham Contemporary's four galleries, a huge combined space of 750 square metres, lit by 133 skylights.

"Quite simply it will be one of the best spaces for art and culture anywhere in Britain", Tate Director Nicholas Serota was recently quoted as saying.

The exhibition is curated by Nottingham Contemporary Director, Alex Farquharson. He is known for his adventurous and popular approach. He co-curated British Art Show 6 which attracted 350,000 visitors to four cities and If Everyone Had An Ocean, an exhibition inspired by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, one of the most popular exhibitions ever at Tate St Ives.

About the Hockney show, Alex Farquharson commented: "Hockney, in this period, was at the crest of a wave, not only in the artistic avantgarde, but in culture in general. It is a fascinating trajectory, from his first idiosyncratic takes on abstraction in 1960 to his unforgettable representations of southern California several years on. Allusions to this work abound in art today – in the work of Elizabeth Peyton, Jack Pierson and Frances Stark, to cite just three important examples. It feels absolutely the right time to be revisiting this work now.”

Also on show for the opening of Nottingham Contemporary will be an exhibition of new and recent work by Frances Stark, one of the most fascinating artists to have emerged from Los Angeles’s vibrant art scene in the past 15 years. This is her first solo exhibition in a British public gallery and it will travel to CCA Glasgow.