Terms and conditions

Find information on tickets, submitting a project proposal, gift cards and visiting our museums.

Conditions of museum entry

We reserve the right to refuse you entry to and/or eject you from our museums. No refunds will be given to visitors who are refused entry or ejected from the museum.

Cancellation and refunds

Events and exhibitions

Your ticket(s) cannot be refunded or exchanged.
Should cancellation of the event be necessary, we will attempt to contact all customers who have booked tickets in advance to arrange exchange or refund of tickets. This contact will be in the form of email, so customers are advised to check their email inbox before visiting the Museum to avoid an unnecessary journey should an event be cancelled. If an alternative visit date cannot be arranged, we will then refund the full price paid, including the payment processing fees, to customers.

Learning workshops

If you would like to change the date of a visit after your booking has already been confirmed, we are happy to arrange another suitable date for an administration fee of £35.
If you cancel a confirmed booking within 21 days of your booked date, you will be charged the full amount. Cancellations with 22 days or more notice of the booked date will incur an administrative charge of £35.

Gift Cards

We sell separate Experience and Shop Gift Cards. These can be used to buy tickets for our exhibitions, events or experiences OR items from our museum shops or online shop. We cannot give you change when you make a purchase with a gift card. Please see our Gift Card terms and conditions for more information on purchasing gift cards and for how to redeem.

Project proposals

Bristol Museums’ public programme is dedicated to connecting people with Bristol’s rich history, vibrant culture, and natural environment. We do this through the unique sites and world-class collections we hold for the city, and with the communities we live and work alongside.

  • Most exhibitions originate from internal proposals, partnerships with national museums and galleries, or creative organisations. We rarely work with individuals.
  • Proposals can be developed in collaboration with partners and communities.
  • Please note, major exhibitions are planned up to three years in advance. Smaller exhibitions are typically planned at least a year in advance.
  • We are a very small team. As such, we will only contact proposers which meet our aim of reaching broader and more diverse audiences.
  • Our exhibition spaces are not available for hire by individuals or artist groups. If you wish to hire space for an exhibition then the teams at Vestibules or Create Centre may be able to help.
  • Bristol Archives offers support for both individual projects and group collaborations. More information is available on the Bristol Archives website.

How to submit a proposal

Our current schedule of commitments and capacity does not allow for any additional exhibitions until after July 2028.

  • You are very welcome to submit a full proposal using the Project proposals form 2025-2026.
  • Proposals are shared with our Programming Group for appraisal, and the deadlines for our Programming Group meetings are listed at the end of the document linked to above.
  • Our schedule of commitments and capacity does not allow for any additional exhibitions this year or next, with availability only beginning to open from July 2028.
  • In common with many museums, we work three years in advance for large scale exhibitions, and a year in advance for smaller exhibitions.

Taking photos at the museums

We’d love to see your photos, share them with us on Instagram: @bristolmuseums

Please be aware photography for your own personal record is allowed throughout the museums except where indicated by this sign:

We do not permit the use of tripods in any areas of the museums unless prior permission has been granted. Please contact us with your request stating the following:

  1. Enquiry Type: Anything Else
  2. Comment or Enquiry: Please start your comment with ‘Documentation Team – Photography Request’ followed by:
  3. Your contact details
  4. The full details of your request.

We will endeavor to respond to your enquiry within 10 working days.

Prior permission is required for publication or commercial use of any kind, including websites.

If you would like to use an image from our collection, this can be done via the Bridgeman Images website.

Food and drink at the museums

To help protect our collections and historic interiors for future generations to enjoy, we ask visitors to consume food and drink only in designated café areas. Pests are attracted by crumbs of food, and accidental spillages of food or drink could damage objects that are on open display.

Using art materials at the museums

We are keen to encourage sketching within our museums. Please be considerate of other visitors when doing so. To protect our collections and the fabric of the building only graphite and coloured pencils should be used within gallery spaces. If you wish to work with different media as part of an arranged visit please contact us and we will do our best to facilitate your request.