The Ben Uri Gallery, London

The Ben Uri Gallery is London's Jewish Art Museum. It's a small museum, taking up only one shop front, so can be easily missed, but is well worth the visit once you are inside. Founded in 1915 in the East End, it has been at the heart of British Jewish life, but now due to its size the permanent collection cannot currently be displayed.

The museum space is instead dedicated to temporary exhibitions centring on one artist or a particular art collective, with luxury accompanying publications and education programmes thoughtfully devised for distribution in local schools, in tune with the educational/community nature of the museum.

The 10 minute walk to the museum from St. John's Wood tube station will take you down the Abbey Road of Beatles fame and into a more residential area with a few small cafes nearby, and a Saatchi Gallery space next door.

The permanent collection includes works by the great Marc Chagall, Jankel Adler and the pre-Raphaelite Simeon Solomon. The exhibitions are part of Ben Uri's continuing exploration of and commitment to the work of émigré artists. As such, artists included in Ben Uri studies and exhibitions do not necessarily have to be of Jewish origin, which explains the "Museum for Everyone" tagline. Other community projects include the "International Jewish Artists of the Year Award" (IJAYA), an annual Springtime competition which allows artists who are not necessarily yet established to enter their works in the hope of winning not only prize money and art supplies, but also a spot on the walls of the Gallery in the exhibition of selected entrants.

Ben Uri Gallery

108A Boundary Rd, London NW8 0RH

Opening Times

Monday, 13.00-17.30; Tuesday-Friday, 10.00-17.30; Saturday and Sunday, 11:00-17.00.