Bargate Monument Gallery
Situated at the heart of Southampton’s city centre is its most historic monument. The Bargate was originally built as the main gateway to the medieval city, throughout history it has held a number of important positions that have included being the city’s Guildhall until the 1770’s and the police headquarters during WW2.
Between 2006 to 2012 ‘a space’ arts adapted the upstairs of the Grade II listed building to house a contemporary gallery. The Bargate Monument Gallery, welcomed over 140,000 visitors staged 42 exhibitions and has shown the work of over 250 artists.
After refurbishment, which was funded by the South East England Development Agency and with the support of Southampton City Council, the gallery opened in 2006. Its first exhibition featured the work of artists from the Arches Studios, another platform developed by ‘a space arts’.
The Bargate Monument Gallery served to bring emerging artistic talent to Southampton while also providing artists from the local creative community with a platform to exhibit their work and build their reputations.
For the final exhibition, in 2012, current residents from the Arches Studios were invited to provide what would be ‘The Last Picture Show’ at The Bargate Monument Gallery.
The gallery is now used intermittently by Southampton Solent University and was one of the venues for the British Art Show 8, when it visited Southampton in 2016.