What's On, Bristol at Home, Exhibitions
The Secret Life of Colour
Published on
When: 24 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
Where: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol
Tickets: From £12
A vivid new exhibition explores the extraordinary role colour plays in our lives, bringing together objects from across the globe to reveal its cultural, scientific and emotional significance.
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery unveils The Secret Life of Colour, a major new exhibition running from 24 October 2026 to 31 January 2027, exploring how colour is made and used in nature and how it shapes our emotions, cultures and understanding of the world.
Blockbuster names
From Pop Art to Pointillism, the show brings together work by global names including Andy Warhol, Wassily Kandinsky, Georges Seurat, Bridget Riley, Peter Blake and Katsushika Hokusai, displayed alongside colourful natural history specimens and cultural artefacts.
Beyond the paintings
Expect Delftware ceramics, seabird eggs, carnival costumes, taxidermy kingfishers and hummingbirds, historic poison bottles and rare colourful minerals including native copper from Cornwall, plus interactive light tables and a 'choose your own colour' wall for younger visitors.
Late openings
A limited run of after-hours Lates events adds DJ sets, projection mapping and a sip-and-sketch activity for a more grown-up evening exploring the show.