Spike Island’s galleries are open Wednesday to Sunday, 12–5pm. The current exhibitions – Peggy Ahwesh: Vision Machines and Lucy Stein: Wet Room – continue until 16 January 2021. Gallery entry is free and you do not need to book.

Emmeline Café is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–5pm and Sunday 10am–4pm.

This page outlines the safety measures you will see when you visit. Please read through this information so you know what to expect.

From Friday 10 December, it is mandatory for all building users, visitors and staff to wear masks in all public and circulation areas of Spike Island (unless you are exempt).

Before you visit 

• We continue to operate a reduced capacity in our building and are promoting social distancing (including the use of face masks) and increased cleaning regimes. You do not need to book a time slot in advance of your visit. 
• Risk assessments have been carried out for both staff and visitor operations. These are regularly reviewed and take into account the latest guidance from the government and Public Health England.
• Please remember to stay at home if you’re feeling unwell, or have been in contact with someone who has coronavirus, and follow NHS coronavirus guidelines.
• We continue to take part in the NHS Test & Trace contact tracing programme. When you arrive at Spike Island, either scan the QR code with your device or provide your details to our staff if you prefer. Any contact details we collect will only be kept for 21 days, and we will only share them with NHS Test and Trace if asked in the event of a visitor(s) or member(s) of the team testing positive for coronavirus.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE

• The main entrance to Spike Island is via our main foyer on Cumberland Road. You will need to enter via this entrance as normal.  
• When you arrive,  please scan the QR code on the large poster outside the front door with your device if you have one. All visitors are requested to scan (check-in) upon arrival at Spike Island. The app can be downloaded from https://www.covid19.nhs.uk/
• When you enter the foyer, please follow the signs to the Gallery Entrance directly in front of the building entrance (you do not need to check-in at reception first – we must keep this area as clear as possible).  
• You may need to queue momentarily whilst we greet visitors and give them a briefing.
• We ask all visitors to wear face coverings in all public areas of the building except when seated and eating or drinking in the café. If you are exempt from wearing a mask, please let our team know. Not all exemptions are visible so please be understanding of others. Our staff will continue to wear face coverings.
• We are asking every visitor to sanitise their hands upon arrival – there are multiple hand sanitising points within the galleries.
• We want Spike Island to be as accessible and inclusive as possible in everything we do. We have ensured that maximum access and inclusion has been considered at every stage of our plan for reopening to create a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone who visits.

During your visit 

• Please continue to observe social distancing and leave 2-metres between yourself and other visitors where possible, following the route around the gallery, which will be shown to you by our friendly team.  
• Please wash your hands frequently. Hand sanitiser is available for your use in the foyer, gallery and throughout the building. Please use this throughout your visit. 
• Please keep left on the stairs and within the corridors, following the floor markings and signage, keeping face coverings on at all times.  
• Please keep children close to you at all times.  
• There is increased cleaning throughout the building, including washrooms, door handles, handrails and other areas of the building.  
• Please pay with contactless or card wherever possible.  
• Entry remains free but we are limiting our capacity, so please be prepared to queue if the gallery is busy.

Exhibitions

• Our galleries are open with the exhibitions Peggy Ahwesh: Vision Machines and Lucy Stein: Wet Room (both exhibitions continue until 16 January 2021).
• Exhibition information is available for visitors to collect on arrival, with large print alternatives available. An activity sheet for children is also available to pick up and an audio guide can be accessed by scanning a QR code.
• Our galleries are constantly supervised by our visitor team. Please act on any guidance our team may give you and don’t be afraid to ask any questions – we’re happy to help in any way we can. 

Reception and general enquiries  

• Our Reception is open for general enquiries from Monday to Friday 9am–5pm, and Saturday to Sunday 10am–12pm* (*during exhibitions). We’ve changed the layout to allow more space for social distancing mitigations which remain in place, including Perspex screens.
• Contactless/card payments are preferred.

Café 

• Emmeline Café opening hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 10am–5pm and Sunday 10am – 4pm.
• Please wear a face mask when in the cafe unless you are seated and eating or drinking. 
• For eating in, please order at the counter and then take a seat. Alternatively takeaway options can be purchased from the counter, or the outside window. 
• Increased cleaning procedures have been implemented in the café, and hand sanitiser is provided for your use.
• Contactless/card payments are preferred.  
• There is seating both outside and inside. The outside seating at the front entrance may be used but please maintain a distance from other groups. You are advised to clean the area you are using before and after use, as we are unable to control the use of these tables by members of the public. Cleaning spray and disposable towels are available from the Reception cleaning station for this purpose.

Toilets

• Toilets including accessible toilets are open for our visitors and café customers as well as baby changing facilities.  
• Please maintain a distance of 2-metres from other people where possible and continue to wear a face mask in all public areas. 
• Hand towels are provided in all washrooms and kept topped up, as well as hot-air hand dryers.
• We are cleaning the toilets frequently throughout each day.

We have been awarded “we’re good to go” status for our safety measures.

If you’d like to ask any questions or concerns about our safety measures, please ask to speak to the Front of House Supervisor, email us admin@spikeisland.org.uk, or call 0117 929 2266.