The Stradling Collection runs a range of exhibitions from the Collection celebrating individual artistry, craftsmanship and product design. We also exhibit work done by local schools, colleges and universities in response to the Collection as part of our learning programme.
We often run Curator’s Tours for a much closer look at the Collection – please use the form on that page to enquire about a booking.
As of 2024, our visitor experience is set over three floors, accessible only by staircases. The ground floor gallery is wheelchair-accessible.
COLLECTIONS
7th September – 5th October 2024
Join us for a showcase of art and design from students at Castle School in Thornbury, Bristol School of Art (SGS College), Cardiff School of Art & Design and UWE School of Architecture and Environment. The Collections exhibition assembles students’ creative responses to the open-ended question: what is a collection?
This question is at the heart of the Stradling Collection’s current educational outreach project. Directed by the trustee responsible for education, David Beech, the project works in conjunction with local schools and colleges to empower students and enrich the art curriculum. Unconstrained by either medium or form, the exhibition is wide in scope, spanning graphics and photography, ceramics, jewellery, and furniture.
The All-Electric House
19 October – 16 November
This exhibition is our contribution to the centenary celebration of the founding of the Electrical Association for Women (EAW) in conjunction with the Women’s Engineering Society.
Our focus will be on the All-Electric House designed by Adrian Powell and built in Bristol in 1935 for the EAW. The concept of this house was to demonstrate the transformative power of electricity to free women from the drudgery and fatigue of housework and allow them to pursue the employment and career opportunities. We will also show the contribution made by Crofton Gane who designed the interiors and furnished the house who also was a pioneer of the modernist design in the UK.
Curator’s tours
Beautiful objects, fascinating stories
Book here for the opportunity to see the whole Collection.
One of the features of the Stradling Collection is the stories about the objects, the makers, the building and Bristol’s place in craft and design history – thanks to the work of Ken Stradling – vividly brought to life by our curator, Tanya Martin. An architect and ceramicist herself, Tanya’s fascinating tours of the Collection are a real journey through the alchemy and magic of craft and design.
Tickets £15 per person
Previous exhibitions
We’ve run a range of exhibitions including:
- A Lifelong Passion for Design – Ken Stradling at 100
- Sitting Pretty – an exhibition of chairs
- Shipshape – a celebration of all things nautical
- Toys and Tales – toys and automata
- Design Icons – design companies in Bristol
And from our learning programme:
