Here Gallery

The Here Gallery is such an assuming little place. They are fully stocked with tonnes of inspiring arty things; books, posters, wallpaper, stickers and lots more, that always makes me really smiley when I’m here.
There is a gallery downstairs which exhibits interesting work, from local and international artists. They always welcome submissions for their consideration, and you can tell they are quite select with the work they choose, as the work shown always is quite spectacular.
If you’re a little down in the dumps or facing a mind block with your own artwork, this place will really help re-​jig your mind.

Here Shop is an inspired creation. Run for several years by volunteers, it has finally started making enough money to pay a small amount to a couple of its originators, who still work behind the counter most days of the week. Stocking all of things that the people who run it wanted to buy, but couldn’t find at any of the existing shops in Bristol, you can expect to find speciality magazines and comics, peculiar books and local handicrafts on the shelves. Amongst the more professionally produced magazines like Beautiful Decay and Adbusters, it’s also possible to find extremely limited editions of less glossy commodities, such as photocopied, self published comics and magazines.
With a gallery downstairs and an unparalleled reputation, this is a must for anyone with an artistic bent, or lively sense of humour.

This award-​winning gallery and book shop is a not-​for-​profit cooperative showcasing emerging new artists and fostering a thriving community of creatives in Bristol.
This cool place fits in well on trendy Stokes Croft, with changing free exhibitions from both local and international artists drawing people in regularly; at the moment the gallery is showing the work of two Danish photographers, but other recent exhibitions have shown fine art and illustration.
In the shop you can browse and buy unusual art, underground comics, artwork and prints, cards, books, well-​known and off-​beat art magazines, jewellery, and other knick knacks ranging from quirky soft toys to provocative salt and pepper shakers.

Gotta love this shop even if it’s just for the cool-​looking frontage. It’s on the corner of Ashley Road and Stokes Croft next to the vibrant red building that is the Arts House. It is for art lovers and collectors and has stacks of cool little prints or models to browse as well as a downstairs gallery space. But there’s also rack upon rack of every art magazine you can think of, so if you are a student or just love culture, this is a must-​visit. They also do a sideline in quirky little gifts, hilarious hand-​drawn cards and sheets of fancy wrapping paper. The gallery is committed to showcasing local artists but has also exhibited for some pretty big names and keeps all fans abreast via an e newsletter. A fantastic addition to a thriving and cool area.

Here is a fantastic little shop and art gallery situated on the corner of Stokes Croft and Ashley Road. Perhaps the best adjective to use for Here is quirky — full of art, magazines and a comfy looking sofa — this is the way I would like my living room to look (accept maybe without the till and customers).
There is a great range of art and design magazines at the front of the shop and lots of books (cratfs, DIY, graffiti and art), homemade wrapping paper and trinkets, making this the perfect place to gift shop for any creative friends. Original artwork and prints are also up for grabs and it is difficult to leave empty handed.
The gallery itself is downstairs and although a little on the small side, there have been some fantastic exhibitions here in the past couple of years including Eleanor Hardwick and Yellena James. Entrance to the gallery is free and if you sign up to their e-​newsletters then you can normally get an invite to the preview where you can hobnob with local artists and get a free glass of wine to boot.

A treasure trove of all things kitsch and quirky, the Here Gallery is — similar to Café Kino across the road — cooperatively run by volunteers. Showcasing a variety of work from local artists, it also hosts regular changing basement exhibitions, which can be surprisingly good.
There’s a range of obscure arts magazines along with the usual giftshop suspects such as cards, wrapping paper, little ornaments and books. As well as purveying some high quality art, it’s also a great place if you’re in search of an authentically Bristol present without resorting to the usual Banksy prints or bottles of cider.
I might even go so far as to say that I’ve caught some of the best exhibitions I’ve seen in Bristol at the Here Shop and Gallery. It may be a rare occurrence when I loosen my pursestrings sufficiently to actually buy something (beautiful and interesting though everything is, it is also mostly very, very unnecessary), it’s always a pleasure to window-​shop.

The Here Shop is another business which is part of the exciting redevelopment that is picking up in Stokes Croft. Situated across Cheltenham road from Café Kino and close to the Leftbank Centre and Hamilton House, it forms part of a flourishing community of artists and artistically minded people.
They sell art book and prints, as well as housing a beautiful little gallery downstairs, exhibiting work from local artists. The people that work here are really friendly too and are extremely passionate about the local arts scene.

Kind of scooched around the corner as you walk up Gloucester Road, this is possibly my favourite shop in Bristol. They accept submissions from any artist and claim a commission on the sale — this makes it great for finding work by small local artists and from the south west as they have a sister gallery in Cornwall.
Particularly strong on prints for your walls, you can also find cards, a few totes and toys and some badges. They also have a great stock of contemporary art books and zines.
Downstairs is a small gallery which the owners choose on application. It changes fairly regularly and I have bought a piece from here — you just take it off the wall which is a bit disconcerting!
The owner is normally listening to a comedy show on the radio when you go in, making it very chilled to just potter and browse through. They also sell tickets for the music venue opposite The Croft.

Stokes Croft’s got a few flowers poking through the grey concrete, the Here Shop is one of them. A gallery and bookshop, they’ve got an often changing range of contemporary art. They do exhibitions by visiting artists, with pen drawings of slightly alien looking organic shapes (that description’s ripped off their website) by a Yugoslav-​American Yellena James currently on display. Whatever is being shown the gallery is always a warm and quiet respite from the traffic on Stokes Croft.
The bookshop side of things is similarly left-​field and varied. They have loads of children’s books, as well as books on graffiti, manga, and an eclectic mix of other subjects. You really have to go along to get a proper sense of the sort of thing they have. It feels like one persons just taken their personal interests and made a shop around it. I like this about the shop, you get exposed to things you might not otherwise get exposed to. The Here shop is kookish and neat, a nice play to wonder round for half an hour or so.

Here is an excellent not-​for-​profit shop that’s run by volunteers and stuffed full of local artwork and funny comics (with things like the broadmead colouring book with a free grey crayon).
All the products are small press or self published, giving it a quirky underground kind of feeling to the place. They also have lots of strange magazines. I could spend hours in this shop, but unfortunately I don’t have the money to buy everything! There’s also a gallery downstairs that’s always interesting, but I’m not really an arty person so it goes over my head a bit.