Ben Uri Gallery and Museum
Small London gallery and museum with a collection on the Jewish, refugee and immigrant contribution to British visual art since 1900.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Ben Uri Art Society was founded in 1915 in Whitechapel in the East End of London by the Russian-born emigre artist Lazar Berson. It began as a venue for Jewish immigrant artists who found it hard to join the established art societies, and it was named after Bezalel Ben Uri, the builder of the Tabernacle mentioned in the Book of Exodus. For decades it was a centre of Jewish cultural life in London.
The society lost its gallery in 1995, when the synagogue building that housed it was sold. A new board of trustees was elected in 2000 and relaunched the charity in 2001 as the Ben Uri Gallery and Museum. In June 2002 it rented its present gallery on Boundary Road in St John’s Wood.
The collection has about 1,000 works by some 400 artists from 40 countries, most of them emigre artists, and has been built up with new acquisitions since 2002. The museum also runs a research unit that records the Jewish, refugee and wider immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900, and a programme that uses art with older people who live with isolation or dementia. Much of its programme is online, alongside exhibitions in the London gallery.
Highlights
- Collection of about 1,000 works by emigre and refugee artists
- Works by artists such as Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, Marc Chagall and Jacob Epstein
- Exhibitions in the Boundary Road gallery, with extra works shown on a screen
- Digital research centre on Jewish, refugee and immigrant artists
- Online teaching resources for schools and families
- Founded
- 1915
- Operated by
- Ben Uri (registered charity 280389)
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: not available
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
A ramp leads to the ground-floor gallery and visitors should ask for it. Wheelchair users and visitors with mobility difficulties cannot reach the lower ground floor, library and archive because of steep stairs; high-resolution images of the works shown downstairs are presented on a screen on the ground floor.
Kids & families
A Kids Programme and downloadable teaching resources for schools and families are offered online.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Abbey Road / Boundary Road bus stop (buses 139 and 189)
The Underground stations St John’s Wood, Swiss Cottage, Finchley Road and Maida Vale are each about a 10-minute walk away, and West Hampstead and Kilburn High Road Overground stations are within walking distance. Buses 139 and 189 stop at the junction of Abbey Road and Boundary Road, bus 31 stops at the junction of Belsize Road and Abbey Road, and buses 16, 32 and 98 run to Kilburn High Road.
By car
Paid parking
Metered street parking on both sides of Boundary Road; the two sides belong to different boroughs, so visitors pay for the side where they park.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | The museum has no telephone line for visitors; enquiries are by email to admin@benuri.org and are answered about once a week. It also offers online content, including videos, podcasts and audio adventures. |
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