It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema.

Artists whose work has been exhibited include Bridget Riley, Rachel Whiteread, Richard Long and Jack Yeats.

In 1975, Arnolfini moved to its present home in Bush House, occupying two floors of a 19th-century Grade II* listed tea warehouse situated on the side of the Floating Harbour in Bristol City Centre.

[3][4][5] Originally dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists from the West of England, under the directorship of Barry Barker (1986–1991)[6] the gallery moved towards a more general spread of contemporary art.

As part of a two-year development project that finished in September 2005,[9][10] the old warehouse has been redeveloped, adding another attic storey.

[13][14] The original committee to support Arnolfini included Peter Barker-Mill, Ann Hewer, and Lawrence Ogilvie.

[16] The architect of Bush House was Richard Shackleton Pope, who constructed first the south part of the warehouse (1831) then extended it to the north in 1835–1836.

The Arnolfini Portrait is one of the earliest paintings to assert the presence of the artist within its depiction (an inscription in the middle of the work and a reflection in a mirror on the back wall).

Notable exhibitions have included works by Bridget Riley, Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread, Paul McCartney, Angus Fairhurst and Louise Bourgeois.

[18] There is an access and education programme, hosting visits from students, workshops with artists, presenting interpretative information and offering some work experience placements within the gallery.

[20] project.ARNOLFINI is an online experimental web site with dumps of digital media related to Arnolfini exhibitions and events, past and present, which may be reorganised by any online user, utilising resources on the web site to create new works and projects under a copyleft license.