The Photographers' Gallery

About the museum

The Photographers' Gallery opened in 1971 in a former tea room in Covent Garden and was the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted to photography. It was the vision of Sue Davies, who found the premises, raised the funding and directed the gallery until 1991 with support from the photographer Dorothy Bohm. The first exhibition was The Concerned Photographer, a show of social documentary work curated by Cornell Capa.

Over the decades the gallery presented well-known international photographers and championed British ones. Since 1997 it has run an annual photography prize in partnership with Deutsche Börse, which is now one of the main awards in the field. In May 2012 it moved to its current building in Ramillies Street in Soho, designed by the architects O'Donnell + Tuomey, which has three floors of exhibition space, an education studio, a café, a bookshop and a print sales gallery.

The gallery marked its 50th anniversary in 2021 with an archive display and an online series on 50 exhibitions, and in 2022 it opened Soho Photography Quarter, a free outdoor exhibition space nearby. It is a registered charity, and its programme includes exhibitions of historic and contemporary work, talks, events, courses and a digital archive of its past exhibitions.

Highlights

• First public gallery in the UK devoted to photography
• Exhibitions on three floors in a building by O'Donnell + Tuomey
• Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize
• Free digital guide and Soho Photography Quarter outdoors
• Café bar, bookshop and print sales gallery

Founded

1971

Operated by

The Photographers' Gallery Limited (registered charity)

Director

Brett Rogers

Admission & discounts

One ticket covers all exhibitions on the day. The prices listed are for advance online booking and each includes an optional donation of £2; the prices for tickets bought on the day are listed separately. Members and visitors aged 18 and under are always free. Gift Aid can be added to the donation.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The building complies with the Disability Discrimination Act and has a lift to all floors, with the main entrance at street level on Ramillies Street. Wheelchair-accessible toilets and baby changing are on the third and fifth floors. Two disabled parking bays are on the west side of Ramillies Place, and Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations have lifts and step-free access. Portable stools can be borrowed, and quieter times are generally Mondays and Tuesdays before noon. Assistance dogs are welcome and a water bowl is available. The gallery programmes free tours led or interpreted in British Sign Language and audio-described tours, with free entry for companions at these tours and other events.

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

Visitors aged 18 and under enter free. Baby changing is available on the third and fifth floors.

Getting there & parking

A delivery and pedestrian ramp leads from Oxford Street down Hill's Place, left along Ramillies Place and right onto Ramillies Street.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check: not available

The Café Bar serves Allpress coffee, salads, sandwiches, cakes, wine and beer and is open every day; members get 10% off. The bookshop and a print sales gallery are on the premises. There is no cloakroom: large bags cannot be stored and only one small bag per visitor is allowed in the galleries.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 100 guests.

The third-floor Eranda Studio seats 70 theatre-style or holds 100 standing, the café holds 80 standing for evening events and the galleries can host evening receptions of up to 100 per floor.

Plan your visit