The Minories
One of the best curated and most variegated galleries in the East of England, the Minories' shows featuring regional artists are among the best of their kind. (Almost exclusively reliant on private funding and philanthropy, the gallery is also a venue for hire. While we cannot vouch for those third party shows, the Minories' own exhibitions are carefully and thoughtfully curated and we recommend them highly.)
Housed in a historic Georgian building on Colchester's High Street, the Minories is a contemporary art gallery - and, in fact, the city's oldest. It has shown regional and national artists since the 1950s and remains an important platform for emerging practice in north Essex. It is also the permanent home of the Victor Batte-Lay Foundation, which periodically draws on its distinguished collection for rotating displays - holdings that include works by John Constable, Camille Pissarro, Eduardo Paolozzi, Paul Nash and John Nash, and Maggi Hambling.
What's on
John Constable: celebrating 250 years
1 Jul 2026 – 16 Aug 2026
What we did in the Plague: An International Covid-19 Project by Phill Jupitus
4 Jul 2026 – 16 Aug 2026
Art Is Resistance: Painting Through Trauma Towards Hope
23 Jul 2026 – 26 Jul 2026
Moth Club
25 Jul 2026
Rhys-Lewis Summer Exhibition
1 Aug 2026 – 2 Aug 2026
Walls and Windows
20 Aug 2026 – 6 Sept 2026
Summer Sizzle - David Piercy and Abbie Cairns
27 Aug 2026 – 30 Aug 2026
Out of Line: Banksy and the Art of Dissent
10 Oct 2026 – 28 Feb 2027
