An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily co ...

. An arts centre is a functional

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole c ...

with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

space, gallery space, venues for

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

al performance, workshop areas, educational facilities, technical equipment, etc. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, "art centers" are generally either establishments geared toward exposing, generating, and making accessible art making to arts-interested individuals, or buildings that rent primarily to artists, galleries, or companies involved in art making. In Britain, the Bluecoat Society of Arts was founded in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in 1927 following the efforts of a group of artists and art lovers who had occupied

Bluecoat Chambers Built in 1716–17 as a charity school, Bluecoat Chambers in School Lane is the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool, England. Following the Liverpool Blue Coat School's move to another site in 1906, the building was rented from 190 ...

since 1907. Most British art centres began after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and gradually changed from mainly middle-class places to 1960s and 1970s trendy,

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

centres and eventually in the 1980s to serving the ''whole'' community with a programme of enabling access to wheelchair users and disabled individuals and groups. In the rest of Europe it is common among most art centres that they are partly government funded, since they are considered to have a positive influence on society and economics according to the Rhineland model philosophy. Many of those organisations started in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s as squatted spaces and were later legalized.

List of arts centres

Dadong Art Center Large Performance Hall

Americas

Canada

* Calgary, Alberta: Arts Commons * Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island:

Confederation Centre of the Arts Confederation Centre of the Arts (french: Centre des arts de la Confédération) is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History Construction of Confede ...

* Ottawa, Ontario: National Arts Centre * Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Centre for the Arts * Vancouver, British Columbia: Firehall Arts Centre *Winnipeg, Manitoba: Manitoba Centennial Centre

United States

* Arlington, Virginia: Artisphere * Atlanta, Georgia: Eyedrum * Chicago, Illinois: Hairpin Arts Center, Hyde Park Art Center, Lillstreet Art Center, South Side Community Art Center * Dallas, Texas: The Dallas Contemporary * Indianapolis, Indiana: Indianapolis Art Center * Milford, Pennsylvania: Pike County Arts and Crafts * Minneapolis, Minnesota:

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

* New York City, New York:

Apexart Apexart is a non-profit art space located in Manhattan, New York, that focuses on challenging the gallery system and democratizing the process by which art is curated and exhibited. The organization was founded by Steven Rand in 1994. Exhibiti ...

, Exit Art,

International Studio & Curatorial Program International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) is a contemporary art institution that runs an international residency program and related exhibitions and events based in Brooklyn, New York. ISCP's exhibitions, talks, screenings and lectures gene ...

* Philadelphia: Painted Bride Art Center * Pittsburgh:

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PCA) is a non-profit community arts campus that offers arts education programs and contemporary art exhibitions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It also provides services and resources for artists th ...

Pittsburgh Glass Center The Pittsburgh Glass Center is a gallery, glass studio, and public-access school dedicated to teaching, creating and promoting studio glass art. It is located on Penn Avenue in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It has features works by ...

* Raleigh, North Carolina: Pullen Park

Europe

Belgium

* Ghent: Vooruit Italy

France

* Nantes: Le Lieu unique

The Netherlands

* Amsterdam: OT301 * Nijmegen: Extrapool * Rotterdam:

WORM Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

Spain

Matadero Madrid Matadero Madrid is the site of a former slaughterhouse, the El Matadero y Mercado Municipal de Ganados (English: Municipal Slaughterhouse and Cattle Market) in the Arganzuela district of Madrid. Today, it is a contemporary arts centre. History ...

*Gijón:

LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Art and Industrial Creation Centre) is an exhibition centre in Gijón, Spain, for art, science, technology and advanced visual industries. It is also a venue for artistic and technological producti ...

United Kingdom

*Aberystwyth: Aberystwyth Arts Centre (1970–present) *Belfast Metropolitan Arts Centre (2012–present) *Birmingham: mac (1962–present) *Bristol: ** Cube Microplex formally Bristol Arts Centre (1964–present) ** Arnolfini (1961–present) *Cambridgeshire:

Wysing Arts Centre Wysing Arts Centre is a contemporary arts residency centre and campus for artistic production, experimentation and learning in South Cambridgeshire, England. The centre was established in 1989 and completed a £1.7 million capital developm ...

(1989–present) *Cardiff: Chapter Arts Centre (1971–present) *Coventry: Warwick Arts Centre (?–present) *Derby:

Quad Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

(2008–present) *Dundee: Dundee Contemporary Arts (1999–present) *Edinburgh:

Summerhall Summerhall is an arts complex and events venue in Edinburgh, Scotland. Formerly home to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies of the University of Edinburgh, it is now a major Edinburgh Festival Fringe visual and performing arts venue. ...

(as arts centre, 2011–present) *Fareham: Ashcroft Arts Centre (1989–present) *Glasgow: **

Third Eye Centre The Third Eye Centre was a contemporary arts centre in Glasgow, founded by Scottish writer Tom McGrath in 1975. The building was at 350 Sauchiehall Street, close to the Glasgow School of Art, and was purchased by the Scottish Arts Council. The ve ...

(1975–1991) ** Centre for Contemporary Arts (1992–present) *Havant: The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre (?–present) *Leicester:

Attenborough Arts Centre The Attenborough Arts Centre is an arts centre on Lancaster Road, Leicester, United Kingdom. It is the University of Leicester arts centre but also serves Leicester as a whole. The centre's access and inclusive work has been recognised, through ...

(?–present) *Liverpool: the Bluecoat (1927–present) *London: ** Barbican Centre (1982–present) ** Camden Arts Centre (1965 (as Hampstead Arts Centre)–present) ** Southbank Centre (1951–present) **

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade I ...

(1980–present) *Manchester: ** Cornerhouse (1985–2015) **

HOME A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

(2015–present) *Newcastle: Newcastle Arts Centre (founded 1980, opened 1988–present) *Nottingham:

Nottingham Contemporary Nottingham Contemporary (formerly known as the Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham (CCAN)) is a contemporary art centre in the Lace Market area of Nottingham. The gallery opened in 2009. The gallery describes its site as being "the oldest i ...

(2009–present) *Norwich:

Norwich Arts Centre Norwich Arts Centre is a live music venue, theatre and art gallery located in St Benedict's Street in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It has a capacity of 260 for standing music concerts and 120 for seated events. In November 2014, it was named "Brita ...

(1977–present) *Omagh:

Strule Arts Centre Strule Arts Centre ( ga, Ionad Ealaíne na Sruthaile; Ulster-Scots: ''Strule Hoose o Airts'') is a multi-purpose arts venue in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Omagh tourist information office is located on the ground floor. The c ...

(?–present) *Plymouth: Plymouth Arts Centre (1947–present)

Middle East

Palestine * Gerard Behar Center,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Asia

China

* Huaxia Art Centre,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

Indonesia

* Ciputra Artpreneur,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

Philippines

* National Arts Center, Los Baños, Laguna * Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex,

City of Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

Taiwan

* Changhua: Lukang Artist Village,

National Changhua Living Art Center The National Changhua Living Art Center () is an arts center in Changhua City, Changhua County, Taiwan. History The center was established in 1955. See also * List of tourist attractions in Taiwan ...

* Chiayi City: Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse, Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park * Hsinchu City: Hsinchu City Art Site of Railway Warehouse, National Hsinchu Living Arts Center * Hualien: Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park * Kaohsiung: Dadong Arts Center,

Meinong Cultural and Creative Center The Meinong Cultural and Creative Center () is a multi-purpose park in Meinong District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History The area used to be a police station building which was built in 1902 at the political and economical center of Meinong. The are ...

, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Pier-2 Art Center * Keelung: Embrace Cultural and Creative Park * Miaoli: Wu Chuo-liu Art and Cultural Hall * New Taipei: Banqiao 435 Art Zone, Xinzhuang Culture and Arts Center * Pingtung: Pingtung Performing Arts Center * Taichung: Taichung City Tun District Art Center, Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park, Taichung Shiyakusho * Tainan: Blueprint Culture and Creative Park,

National Tainan Living Arts Center The National Tainan Living Arts Center () is an arts center in West Central District, Tainan, Taiwan. It handles the cultural-related affairs among communities for the counties in southern Taiwan. History The center was originally initiated in ...

* Taipei: Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Mind Set Art Center, National Taiwan Arts Education Center, Puppetry Art Center of Taipei,

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park The Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (SSCC; ) is a multifunctional park in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. History The park was initially constructed in 1937 as a tobacco factory under the name under the Japanese government. After Japan c ...

, Taipei City Arts Promotion Office * Taitung: National Taitung Living Art Center, Taitung Railway Art Village * Taoyuan:

Taoyuan Arts Center The Taoyuan Arts Center () is a performance center in Taoyuan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan located in Taoyuan Zhongzheng Arts and Cultural Business District. History The center was opened in 2010. Architecture The building was constructed us ...

, Zhongli Arts Hall * Yilan: National Center for Traditional Arts

Thailand

* Bangkok Art and Culture Centre

References

{{Art world , state=autocollapse Arts centres Types of art museums and galleries Contemporary art galleries