We’re currently looking for people to join our team in a number of roles. Volunteers play an important part in the smooth running of our public programme of exhibitions and events, gaining valuable experience of working at a busy contemporary art and design organisation and meeting a whole range of people. The deadline to apply for the Summer period is Thursday 20 June at 12pm. We’re also recruiting for a ... read on →

Last year Spike Associates, a membership network of artists, curators, writers and other creative practitioners, have initiated a series of events on professional practice. They explore both critical and practical aspects of working within the arts with panelists from across the sector. If you missed the fifth session on Tuesday 28 May, which focused on working with graphic designers, Jono Lewarne of City Edition Studio ... read on →

A group of four artists has been selected to launch a new project space in Bristol’s Temple Quarter with support from Spike Island. Detroit is a new collaboration between Bryony Gillard, Hannah Still, Christopher Green and Mark James. Marking the similarity in the urban structure of the two cities, their programme will point towards the move away from a ... read on →

Last month Alex Coles, author of the 2012 book The Transdisciplinary Studio, visited Spike Island to discuss practices at the junction of art, design and architecture with our director Helen Legg. In researching the book, Coles spent time in the studios of Jorge Pardo, Olafur Eliasson, Konstantin Grcic and Åbäke, and here he shares anecdotes and insights from these visits, as well as his thoughts on business models in art and ... read on →

In our Spring 2013 brochure we indicated that two of Warboys’ films, Stone Throat (2011) and Pageant Roll (2012) would be included in the exhibition. As planning progressed, the decision was taken not to feature these works, but they can now be viewed here and on our Vimeo page for the duration of the exhibition. Jessica Warboys, Pageant Roll (2012) Jessica ... read on →

Together with Situations and Arnolfini, we are delighted to announce that we have secured a £150,000 grant from Arts Council England's “Catalyst Arts: building fundraising capacity” scheme. The money will be used to seed fund a long-term strategy for building patronage for the visual arts in the city by galvanising collaborative working, sharing resources and articulating a compelling case for ... read on →

Artist, writer and curator Lucy Reynolds has been invited to select moving image works submitted by Spike Island studio holders and members of Spike Associates for this year’s Open Screening Area. The chosen videos and films move between technological performance to camera, documentation of live works, glimpses of the everyday and surreal gardening advice. Katie Davies, Looking for Abraham (2005) Filmed in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Looking for Abraham is a four-minute ... read on →

We look forward to welcoming you this weekend to our annual Open, an opportunity to explore the work that is made, exhibited and discussed here throughout the year by artists, designers and audiences. Below are just a few highlights that you can expect to find this weekend; take a look at the event page to view the whole programme. No matter what you see ... read on →

Our first experiment in crowd funding, undertaken with artist Melissa Gordon, has been a success! With the support of 58 generous backers, we not only reached but exceeded our goal of £4000, ending with a final total of £4,478.  The money raised will contribute towards Melissa's residency at Spike Print Studio, starting next week and running through the end of May. The funds will cover materials as well as travel and ... read on →

Members of Spike Associates have been invited to undertake a series of residencies in the Curfew Tower, a unique location in Cushendall, Northern Ireland. Read more about the residencies. Marie Toseland, who is based in a studio here at Spike Island and is also a member of Spike Associates, followed Holly Corfield Carr in the February slot. She shared ... read on →

Groups of artists, curators and producers are invited to submit proposals for an opportunity to establish a new project space for Bristol from July 2013. Members of the selection panel are looking for an ambitious vision to deliver an exciting contemporary visual art and/or design programme. This project aims to reenergise independent artist-led activity in the city and to help artists explore the potential of the Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration ... read on →

Please note that our gallery and Spike Café hours are changing slightly from April. Our Spring exhibitions launch with new shows by Jessica Warboys and Cara Tolmie on Saturday 13 April, from which time the gallery opening hours will be 12–5pm. Spike Café weekday opening times remain the same, 8.30am–5pm, but it will open 12–5pm on weekends from Saturday 6 April. The café will be closed for the bank holiday ... read on →

In April Spike Island will merge with Picture This, taking on its AV equipment hire, production and post-production services. A new department, Spike Film and Video, will be run by former Picture This staff members Ali Roche and Andy Moss. Throughout its 20 year history, Picture This has made a major contribution to moving image practice, commissioning and producing works that have been shown in national ... read on →

Have some time on your hands? Looking for experience working in an arts organisation? Want to support local culture? Volunteers play a key role in the smooth running of Spike Island's exhibitions and events, and we're now looking for new individuals to join our team, both for our Spring public programme and for our Open weekend at the beginning of May. Applications are now being taken until the deadline on ... read on →

We’re excited to share with you a new experiment in crowd funding that we’re undertaking with artist Melissa Gordon ahead of her exhibition Material Evidence, which opens here at Spike Island on 5 July. If you’re not familiar with Melissa’s work, she’s an American-born, London-based artist who has exhibited widely in Europe and the United States. Her work as a painter and printmaker follows the cyclical relationship between surface and ... read on →

Last year Spike Associates, a membership network of artists, curators, writers and other creative practitioners, have initiated a series of events on professional practice. They explore both critical and practical aspects of working within the arts with panelists from across the sector. If you missed the fourth session on Tuesday 26 February, which focused on funding arts projects, Spike Associate Julie McCalden shares the top tips she took away from ... read on →

Bristol Diving School is an artist collective based both in Spike Island's artists' studios and in an independent space around the corner from us on Hanover Place. Communications manager Anna Searle Jones sat down with members Tom Prater and Holly Maries to discuss what they're up to at the moment. So, first of all, who or what is Bristol Diving School? Bristol Diving School is an artist-led initiative founded in ... read on →

A group of Spike Associates travelled to Plymouth earlier this month for the opening of Associate member Hannah James’ solo show, The outline seems indelible at The Gallery, Plymouth College of Art on Wednesday 6 February. Associates coordinator Lucy Drane shares her impressions. This is the inaugural exhibition to launch the South West Showcase, profiling three artists selected from an open call in ... read on →

To coincide with our Winter 2013 exhibitions, we are pleased to launch two new Spike Island Editions by Becky Beasley and Uriel Orlow. These beautiful limited editions offer the opportunity to own original artworks at an affordable price, and all proceeds from the sale of editions go to support Spike Island's exhibition programme. Uriel Orlow, Porous Present (#1)(2013) This image was taken by Uriel Orlow in 2009 during research in ... read on →

This collection of materials has been compiled by artist Uriel Orlow for anyone who would like to investigate further the themes and issues of his exhibition Back to Back. The list features a broad range of subject matter and formats that have informed his thinking, from history and architecture to memoir, poetry and cinema. Robert Bevan The Destruction of Memory: Architecture at War Fethiye Çetin My Grandmother ... read on →

We are one of four visual arts organisations in the region currently working with Visual Arts South West and Annabel Jackson Associates Ltd. to undertake research into the quality of vistors’ experience. Spike Island’s vision is to position art as central to society, and our mission is to support artists and designers and to facilitate audiences’ encounters with ... read on →

Becky Beasley is a voracious reader, and she draws from a range of literary writers and texts, as well as canonical works of art and the history of photography, in making her work. The title of her current exhibition, Spring Rain, is taken from a short story by Bernard Malamud, for example.  The artist has suggested the following texts for those who would like to dig deeper into her interests ... read on →

Members of Spike Associates have been invited to undertake a series of residencies in the Curfew Tower, a unique location in Cushendall, Northern Ireland. Read more about the residencies. Holly Corfield Carr – author, Spike Associate and 2013 writer-in-residence at Spike Island – was the first to take up residence in the tower. She has just returned to Bristol after three ... read on →

Uriel Orlow's new exhibition Back to Back opens here on Friday, marking the first time he's shown recent films Remnants of the Future (2010–2012) and Plans for the Past (2011–2012) together in the UK.  Both films centre on towns called Mush – one in Armenia and one in Turkey. Here Orlow discusses what drew him to these locations and how the projects relate to concerns in his wider practice about history, memory, representation and ... read on →

Spike Island is committed to supporting emerging artists and their work, so we’re delighted to be hosting this year’s New Contemporaries when it opens in September. Since 1949 New Contemporaries has provided a critical platform for new and recent fine art graduates by means of an annual, nationally touring exhibition. Artists featured in previous editions of New Contemporaries include Becky Beasley, Florian Roithmayr and Charlie Tweed, as well as former Spike ... read on →

Researcher and writer Megan Wakefield has been based at Spike Island for the last few years as part of a PhD in collaboration with the University of the West of England. Her work investigated peer learning amongst artists outside of formal educational systems, whether within networks like Spike Associates or looser affiliations of individuals. Wakefield completed her PhD in late 2012 and here shares some of her experiences and ... read on →

Once a year the Spike Island community – staff, artists, designers, creative businesses and arts organsations based here – come together for what we call the Annual Event. This evening is an opportunity to share and celebrate the successes of the last 12 months, and earlier this month we heard great stories from individuals and groups about what they've been up to in 2012. One of the highlights of the ... read on →

Happy holidays from all of us at Spike Island! As we wind down after what has been an immensely fruitful year, we are grateful for the ideas, energy and enthusiasm that have surrounded us in 2012, and we look forward to an equally exciting 2013. Spike Café and reception will be closed the following dates: Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 December 2012 Saturday 22 December 2012 ... read on →

Last week's One Night Stand event was the last in a series of three evenings throughout the autumn that explored the grey areas between visual art and other contemporary practices: moving image, literature and performance. One Night Stand: Performance featured visual artists and writers who use performance in their work as well as live art and theatre makers. Though their approaches differed, contributors shared overlapping interests, for example in the ... read on →

Bristol-based artist cooperative the Collect are bringing Spoon Fed to Spike Island in December. Do you have a creative project that you need a small amount of funding for? This simple soup social and arts micro-funding event brings together local artists and audiences to make possible ambitious projects that might not otherwise be realised. Since Spoon Fed started in February, it’s raised over £900 to support five such undertakings, from ... read on →

Earlier this month we hosted One Night Stand: Readings, a salon evening featuring artists and writers who move across boundaries and genre. From a poet to a visual artist via a live performer with a sideline in fiction and a novelist who also produces plays, the event traced the many ways in which language is being used in contemporary creative practices. Each invited ... read on →

Our lovely Operations Manager Laura is going off on maternity leave soon, so we're looking for someone motivated, strategic and energetic to fill her shoes. If you have experience of managing a building, knowledge of health and safety regulations, and excellent communication skills, head over to our Opportunities page to find out more. read on →

Ivan Seal’s work documents a cryptic shadow world in which the familiar is made tantalisingly strange. The artist works quickly from memory to produce his enigmatic paintings, pulling in fragments of narratives, shapes, textures and colours that have made an impression; titles and audio pieces are often composed by randomly generating or shuffling text with a computer programme. Though his work doesn’t refer directly to any specific sources, Ivan has ... read on →

Spike Associates have been invited to undertake a year of month-long residencies in the Curfew Tower. This unique nineteenth century building sits at the centre of the village of Cushendall on the north east coast of Northern Ireland. Owned by Bill Drummond, the Tower has been run as an artist residency space since 1999, overseen by its trustees, Marcus Patton, Susan Philipsz, John Hirst and Drummond. The Curfew Tower has ... read on →

Artist Ivan Seal is at Spike Island this week to install his solo exhibition In Here Stands It, which opens on Friday evening. He sat down with director Helen Legg last night for a conversation on humour, language and “hairy sticks”. An excerpt from the interview will be used in the gallery guide, but you can listen to the whole thing here. read on →

After Spike Island hosted their first solo show in the UK earlier this year, we're delighted to hear that Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel have won the 2012 Marcel Duchamp prize. Established in 2000 by the Adiaf (Association pour la Diffusion Internationale de l’Art Français) in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and FIAC, the Prix Marcel Duchamp is intended 'to promote the international recognition of artists working in France, in ... read on →

Each year Spike Island works with the University of the West of England and the University of Falmouth to identify and support promising graduates through an open call to their students. Joining us this month to begin their 2012 Spike Island Graduate Fellowships are Elisa Juncosa Umaran from Falmouth for three months and Sebastian Jefford and Menna Cominetti from UWE for a full year.  Each receives working space in our ... read on →

Rogue Game brings together three different sports staged simultaneously in the same arena, with each game played according to its own rules. In doing so, Rogue Game constructs a setting that gives rise to moments of improvisation, subversion, ingenuity and chance. These clips are edits of footage captured during the Rogue Game, First Play live matches. As the games unfolded, they were streamed into the adjacent gallery ... read on →

Last week Bristol-based artist cooperative the Collect hosted an evening of fun and games, exploration and experimentation. Bringing together games made by and inspired by artists, the Artists' Games Night featured dice games, board games, video games, drawing games and word games, plus a special Fluxus-style table tennis challenge. → Download the programme notes read on →

Sophie Warren, Jonathan Mosley and Can Altay share a selection of the texts that have inspired and informed their ongoing project Rogue Game. Warren and Altay are artists and Mosley is an architect, and these books and articles represent their broad inquiry into game theory, urban planning, performance, literature and cinema. Visitors are invited to peruse these materials in the Resource Area in Gallery 2 during opening hours. Claire ... read on →

Rogue Game kicked off on Friday evening with a live football-volleyball-basketball match and these photos, taken by Max McClure, show the transformation of the gallery into a hybrid sports zone. In addition to the game, the exhibition features text pieces, video, photography and installation. Proposition No. 25 invites visitors to run a circuit in the gallery, stopping periodically to “play dead”, while Rogue Game Replay ... read on →

Berlin-based British artist Ivan Seal is known for his ambiguous and slightly odd still life paintings, but he has also worked with sound for many years, using computers to generate aleatoric compositions. In this new spoken word piece, recorded exclusively for Spike Island ahead of his exhibition In Here Stands It which opens on 20 October, Seal exercises the words in the show's title, enabling new meanings and associations ... read on →

Between April and June this year Spike Island was one of three arts organisations across the country that hosted a pair of creative technologists for 12 weeks as part of Happenstance, one of the ACE, NESTA and AHRC ‘Digital R&D for Arts and Culture Fund’ projects. During their time here Kevin ... read on →

As a charity, Spike Island relies on the support of people who offer a few hours each week to ensure that visitors to our exhibitions and events are welcomed and informed. Since we began the volunteer programme last year, over 70 individuals have joined us to support our front of house team. In return for a weekly shift, volunteers gain valuable experience working behind the scenes at a busy gallery, ... read on →

Spike Island and artists Jonathan Mosley, Sophie Warren and Can Altay are looking for video editors and camera operators to collaborate on their project, Rogue Game, which runs from 7 to 30 September. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in this live exhibition. Rogue Game brings together three different sports staged simultaneously in the same arena – a gallery converted into a multi-purpose sports hall ... read on →

As part of her contribution to Pull Everything Out, artist Ciara Phillips set up a working studio in the front gallery where she was based throughout July. Though Phillips has now returned to Glasgow, the workshop remains as it was during the residency, with inspiration and source materials pinned to the walls and ink and screens set out on the tables. → Read more about Phillips’ workshop and ... read on →

Ciara Phillips and Melissa Gordon joined Spike Island’s director Helen Legg and curator Marie-Anne McQuay on Tuesday 17 July 2012 to discuss their practices and processes. For both artists, printmaking and collaborative methods of production are central to the way the make art. As part of our exhibition Pull Everything Out, Phillips set up a screenprinting studio in the gallery where she worked with ... read on →

We were delighted to welcome Lydia Kavina to Spike Island for a special performance to mark the opening of our summer exhibitions on Friday 29 June. Kavina – considered by many to be the world's leading theremin player and the grand-niece of the instrument's inventor Léon Theremin – frequently collaborates with artist Jesse Jones. Her music features in Jones's video installation The Struggle Against Ourselves which is on show in ... read on →

As part of our current exhibition Pull Everything Out, artist Ciara Phillips is working from a studio set up in the gallery for the month of July, collaborating with other artists and designers. Members of Glasgow-based Poster Club were here last week, Melissa Gordon is here this week, and Fraser Muggeridge and Jono Lewarne will be here later in the month. The Workshop is set up in the front ... read on →

Birmingham-based designer James Langdon has been working closely with us since last year on the development of our visual identity and new print material.  Alongside that project, he has made use of his time in Bristol to research the history of a little-known design education programme, the Construction School, based in Bristol at the West of England College of Art and Design (now the University of the West of England). ... read on →

Calling all sports enthusiasts! For three weeks this September, we will stage Rogue Game, a live exhibition that transports the architecture, tactics and actions of a multipurpose sports hall into Spike Island. This ongoing project by artist/architect collaboration Sophie Warren and Jonathan Mosley with Can Altay starts with a simple premise: the coloured lines of the courts are marked out in the gallery where three different games are played ... read on →

Want to learn more about the ideas and processes behind our current exhibitions Pull Everything Out and The Struggle Against Ourselves? These books have been selected by artists Ciara Phillips and Jesse Jones with input from Spike Island's director Helen Legg and curator Marie-Anne McQuay. Some are texts that have directly influenced the artists, while others give an introduction to the cultural and historical movements that inform the work. Visitors ... read on →

Starting next week and running throughout the summer, Spike Island presents a series of one night pop-up exhibitions selected and organised by representatives of our artistic community in a new temporary gallery. Each evening features a selection of pieces or project by one of the building’s groups who are taking an experimental, collaborative approach to using the space. This offers you an opportunity to see the artists’ work in a ... read on →

Each year, the University of the West of England and Spike Island offer two outstanding graduates from the Fine Art BA and Art and Visual Cultures BA programmes a residency fellowship. Two artists, selected from an open call to students, are offered studio space at Spike Island and access to facilities at UWE’s Bower Ashton campus for a year. This opportunity aims to support and encourage young artists in Bristol ... read on →

Spike Associates, a membership network of artists, curators, writers and other creative practitioners, have initiated a series of events on professional practice. They explore both critical and practical aspects of working within the arts with panelists from across the sector. We'll be taking a break over the summer and return with more sessions in the autumn. You can also read about the first two sessions: What to Expect ... read on →

In one of her first projects during her Happenstance residency here, Linda Sandvik asked members of the Spike Island community to take pictures of their favourite spots in the building. This invitation was extended to members of the public during the Open weekend, and the resulting images were displayed in the resource area of the gallery and have now been made into a Flickr slideshow. Linda said, ... read on →

Artist and designer Daniel Eatock presented a lecture on his practice here on Tuesday 15 May. The following reflections on the talk are written by Jeremy Cooper, a writer and novelist whose collection of artists’ postcards includes several of Eatock’s pieces and is currently on display in The Artists’ Postcard Show. Eatock described this talk as ‘more like a performance, making a chain of creative connections’ in travel ... read on →

Join our team! We're currently recruiting a full time café supervisor and summer volunteers to work one day a week. Both positions play key public roles at Spike Island, welcoming visitors and providing excellent customer service. Apply for the volunteer positions by Monday 11 June at 12pm, and for the café role by Tuesday 12 June at 5pm. Find out more on our Opportunities page. read on →

Anybody who would like to practice their research, brainstorming or collaboration skills is invited to attend a Design Jam here on Saturday 16 June initiated by our current Happenstance creative technology resident Linda Sandvik. All are welcome, whether you’re an experienced design practitioner, a student or just curious about exploring User Experience (UX) – the way in which people use products, systems and services and how they feel ... read on →

Dublin-based artist Jesse Jones visited this week ahead of her exhibition The Struggle Against Ourselves which opens here on 30 June. Here she discusses the way in which her film draws a connection between the rigorous gestures of Russian theatre director Vsevolod Meyerhold and the grand Hollywood spectacle of Busby Berkeley in the 1920s. read on →

Today members of all three generations of Bristol Diving School convene around a table for the first time since its inception in March 2009. The meeting will be filmed, streamed online and projected live into our gallery here at Spike Island. Bristol Diving School, just around the corner from Spike Island on Hanover Place, is an artist-run studio and exhibition space run by recent graduates. Each year the group ... read on →

Spike Associates, a membership network of artists, curators, writers and other creative practitioners, have initiated a series of events on professional practice. They explore both critical and practical aspects of working within the arts with panelists from across the sector. The next event in this series, What to Expect from an Arts Writer, takes place on Tuesday 29 May. We'll be taking a break over the summer and ... read on →

Alias – a platform built by artists for artists for the development of artist-led groups in the South West – offers free taster advisory sessions for creative practitioners on Tuesday 29 May. These one-to-one meetings with Sovay Berriman can cover anything that an independent project at any stage of its development might need: funding advice, organisational review, marketing, networking, critical feedback or just a sounding board. Sessions are 20 ... read on →

As part of the Happenstance project, current creative technologist in residence Kevin Walker invited Spike Island artists, designers and staff to contribute a postcard design to Wish You Were Here, an interactive installation for the Spike Island Open. Within just a few days, we had the following beautiful cards with drawings, prints, photos and digital designs. Amy Mason, former Spike Island writer in residence, then wrote a non-linear ... read on →

As part of this year's Spike Island Open we have invited studio holders and members of Spike Associates to submit recent video works, reflecting the rich range of moving image work produced by the artistic community here. The artists variously explore analogue film's relationship to sculpture, live performative actions to camera and the influence of other genres on Video Art, such as science fiction cinema, theatrical melodrama ... read on →

It’s nearly time for this year’s Spike Island Open! We’ve been busy for the last few weeks getting the building ready, and we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors when we open our doors tomorrow evening.   Starting with a preview and party as part of the Harbourside Arts Night with our neighbouring organisations Arnolfini, Picture This, Works|Projects and Bristol Diving School, we’ve got a whole ... read on →

After an exciting start to the project last week, things really took off on Monday as Happenstance residents Kevin Walker and Linda Sandvik brought in a whole load of gadgets and spread them across the Associates Space. Linda shares what they're working on, including two experiments that you can see at next weekend's Spike Island Open: We continued to play around with sensors and collecting data. Arduinos, ... read on →

The Sensible Stage: Staging and the Moving Image is a collection of newly commissioned texts that explore the relationship between the moving image, performance and theatricality in recent contemporary art practice. Edited by Bridget Crone and published by Picture This with Bridget Crone/Plenty Projects, the book is launched with a programme of performances during the LUX/ICA Biennial of Moving Images, 23 to 27 May. To celebrate the launch of ... read on →

We’ve come to the end of our first week of the Happenstance project and residents Kevin Walker and Linda Sandvik have had a burst of ideas about how to collect data from around the building and use it to make exciting, intriguing and maybe even beautiful visualisations and objects. Happenstance is an experiment to see what happens when creative technologists are embedded in arts organisations. Already we’ve been ... read on →

The following publications have been selected by our programme team and the artists to provide further information about our current exhibitions. These offer art historical, cultural and theoretical context to the works and their production. Dewar & Gicquel, Crêpe Suzette The Craftsman, Richard Sennett Mason Massacre, Dewar & Gicquel The Intangibilities of Form: Skill and Deskilling in Art After the Readymade, John Roberts Take Place: Photography and ... read on →

We're looking for someone with a great attitude and an eye for detail to join our staff team two days a week. Working closely with the Communications Manager, you'll play a key role in promoting Spike Island and its activities.The application deadline is Friday 27 April, 5pm. Find out more on our Opportunities page. read on →

Are you calm, patient, resourceful and a great team player? Do you have the practical and technical skills to install contemporary art exhibitions to the highest standard? We've got a full time opportunity for someone to join our team as Technical Manager, working closely with the operations and programming team on all aspects of Spike Island's technical needs. The application deadline is Wednesday 18 April, 5pm. Find out more on ... read on →

Artist and Spike Island studio holder Matt Davies has created a stunning audio portrait of Haroon Mirza's exhibition. Using a directional microphone and digital recorder, Davies walks through the show, capturing the sounds of individual pieces along the way. This saturation of sound highlights the audio content of the exhibition, exposing the quieter sounds within the space, such as the hum emitting from the various amps, TVs and other electrical ... read on →

Spike Associates, a membership network of artists, curators, writers and other creative practitioners, have initiated a series of events on professional practice. They explore both critical and practical aspects of working within the arts with panelists from across the sector. Join us for future events in this series: What to Expect from a Curator on Tuesday 13 March, and What to Expect from an Arts Writer on Tuesday ... read on →

Beyond the walls of the gallery here at Spike Island there are studios and offices full of artists, designers and other creative practitioners. We talked to a handful of people from around the building about what makes Spike Island such a lively and inspiring place to develop their work. This audio slideshow has been created by Nick Hand, a designer and photographer based at Spike Island, with the help ... read on →

If you can't make it down to our exhibitions resource area but would like to learn more about the work in our winter exhibitions, these titles have been suggested by artists Haroon Mirza and Suzanne Mooney. Haroon Mirza, /|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/|/| Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, Christoph Cox and Daniel Warner (ed.) British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet, Lisa Le Feuvre and Tom Morton (ed). ... read on →

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Technical Assistant to support Spike Island’s public programme of exhibitions and events. You'll need to be handy, reliable and a good team player. The deadline to apply for this post is Friday 2 March, 5pm. For more information, visit our Opportunities page. read on →

Welcome to Spike Island’s new website. We’ve been working hard over the last year as an organisation to think about how we describe what we are, both for our internal community and our wider audience. Are we a gallery? Artists’ studios? Offices? The answer is that we’re all of these, plus a café, printmaking studio, home to arts organisations like Picture This and neighbour to others like Bristol Diving School. ... read on →

Big congratulations to artist Ruth Claxton who won the 2012 Arts Foundation Award for Sculpture last night. Claxton spent time at Spike Island in 2007 through the Arts Council England: South West Residency. Her three months here formed part of the research phase in the development of a major body of work, Lands End. The exhibition opened at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, in April 2007 and was ... read on →

Sound Spill is part of a wider body of research undertaken by Haroon Mirza with curator Thom O’Nions and artist Richard Sides. They are interested in the curatorial problem of sound spill, when the audio from one artwork overlaps with that of another in a gallery setting. By and large, efforts are made to minimise sounds mixing in this way. This, to some degree, invariably fails. Artworks with an element ... read on →

Happenstance aims to change the way arts organisations use technology. Spike Island invites applications from technologists to join us for a twelve week residency as part of the NESTA, Arts Council England and AHRC ‘Digital R&D for Arts and Culture Fund‘. Site Gallery in Sheffield and Lighthouse in Brighton will also ... read on →