Refurbishment of the Art Gallery
07 March 2026
The Gallery is open!
Please visit us and let us know what you think!
A full list of exhibitions can be found here
26 Feb 2026
Southampton-born artist opens the newly refurbished Art Gallery
For its opening exhibition from 7 March 2026, Southampton City Art Gallery presents ‘Levitate Me: Desire, Ecstasy and The Sublime’, a major solo exhibition of new work by British artist Emma Richardson. Spanning the entire east wing of the Gallery, the show features a striking new series of oil paintings that continue Richardson’s exploration of transcendence, eroticism, and the sublime.
Click here to read the full update
28 October 2025
Southampton City Art Gallery is Getting Ready to Reopen in March 2026
Southampton City Art Gallery will reopen on Saturday 7 March 2026 after a successful refurbishment programme. As part of a series of exciting new displays, the opening exhibition will be by acclaimed British artist Emma Richardson.
Click here to read the full update.
30 July 2025
Southampton City Art Gallery Refurbishment Enters Final Phase
We are excited to be moving into the final stages of the Gallery’s refurbishment with internal restoration and decoration of the Main Hall’s vaulted ceiling well underway. This includes the re-instatement of the iconic stripes of the artwork ‘With the Arcades’, installed by Daniel Buren in 1994, which are a celebrated feature.
Click here to read the full update.
30 January 2025
Southampton City Art Gallery Closure FAQs
Southampton City Art Gallery will temporarily close after Saturday 22 February as the next phase of the planned restoration works begins. However, from Saturday 5 April, we will partially reopen for booked groups and school visits, and through pre-booked self-guided visits for our general visitors.
Please click here to read all there is to know about the closure of Southampton City Art Gallery.
27 January 2025
Southampton City Art Gallery Enters Exciting Next Phase of Restoration Works
Southampton City Art Gallery will be temporarily closing from Saturday 22 February as the next phase of the planned restoration works begins. This phase will include internal repairs and a heating upgrade in the Main Hall, alongside the installation of new windows.
Many residents and visitors will have seen the enormous scaffolding outside the front of the Art Gallery entrance over the past few months – it is one of the largest free-standing scaffold roof spans in the UK to date, and images of the work that has been taking place underneath can be seen on the Art Gallery website.
Click here to read the full update.
28 October 2024
ACE supports gallery repairs to keep the city’s nationally Designated art collection safe and accessible
Southampton City Art Gallery has entered Phase 2 of its planned repair works to keep the city’s nationally Designated art collection safe and accessible.
The refurbishment of the Art Gallery’s roof is continuing at pace, and many of our regular visitors will have seen the enormous scaffolding now enveloping part of the building, in what is one of the largest free-standing scaffold roof spans in the UK to date.
These essential works, supported by the Museum Estate and Development fund, will allow us to keep the city’s nationally Designated art collection safe and accessible whilst improving the efficiency of the building.
Towards the end of February, the Art Gallery will be temporarily closing to allow for the next phase of work in the Main Hall. During this time, we will use one of the wings to show a series of exciting sculpture displays from our collection, which will be available to be booked for groups and schools.
We are also planning to offer some pre-booked tours for our general visitors.
