What's On, Bristol at Home, Exhibitions
Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey
Published on
When: 17 October 2026 – 7 February 2027
Where: Arnolfini, Bristol
Tickets: Free
More than 150 works come together in the first major survey of Joy Gregory's career, exploring identity, history, race and beauty through photography, film, installation and textiles.
Opening Bristol Photo Festival 2026 as one of its headline exhibitions, Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey runs at Arnolfini from 17 October 2026 to 7 February 2027, and is free to visit with donations welcome.
Four decades of work
Since the early 1980s, Gregory has challenged expectations of both photography and what Black or feminist art should look like, drawing on Victorian processes such as cyanotypes and kallitypes alongside digital media, performance and textiles. The exhibition brings together key series including Autoportrait, The Handbag Project and Memory and Skin, plus a newly commissioned film shot in South Africa's Kalahari Desert.
Origins of the show
Originated by London's Whitechapel Gallery, where it first opened in October 2025, this is the first major survey exhibition of Gregory's career, touring to Bristol in collaboration with Arnolfini and generously supported by Freelands Foundation.
Visiting
The galleries are open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm, closed Mondays except bank holidays; entry is free throughout the run.