Nunnery Gallery is the free public exhibition space of Bow Arts, at 181 Bow Road in east London. Bow Arts was set up in 1994 by the artists Marcel Baettig and Ryan Durrant, with support from Marc Schimmel, owner of the Bow Road premises.
In 1997 a £100,000 grant from Arts Council England paid for the restoration of the derelict former convent on the site, carried out by Bow Arts itself. “We had no heating, we had no proper lighting,” Baettig has said. The gallery opened with its first exhibition in 1998.
Programme
Visions in the Nunnery, launched in 1999, is a biennial showcase of moving image, digital and performance art chosen through an international open call. The annual Bow Open presents work by Bow Arts studio holders, selected each year by a guest curator.
Bow Arts also founded the East London Art Prize, whose shortlist and winners’ exhibitions the gallery hosts in alternate years. Raw Materials is an ongoing research project on the industrial history of the River Lea Valley, led by members of the local community.
Laisul Hoque won the East London Art Prize with his installation An Ode to All the Flavours, and Bow Arts has announced a solo show by him at the Nunnery in 2026.
Bhajan Hunjan: speaking through materials, the first exhibition to bring together works from Hunjan’s more than 40 years of practice, runs until 20 December 2026. The gallery opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, and entry is free.
Location: Bow, London, United Kingdom
Address: 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ, United Kingdom
Website: bowarts.org/nunnery-gallery