The transformative nature of art and London's public libraries
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” - Jorge Luis Borges
By
Chioma Ince
January 24, 2024
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
As a young girl, the library was always a magical place for me, a sweet shop of adventure, friendship, villains and overcoming adversity. What I loved most was how it was full of colour, images and endless possibilities. I even thought it was incredible that I was given the agency to pick what book I wanted and take it out under my name; my library card was my first credit card. As I got older, the possibilities of a library only grew: my local library added DVDs to the loan-out collection, so in addition to my new picture book, I could now borrow Digimon: The Movie - I know, super-cool. But it wasn’t until I started my foundation course at UAL Camberwell and my undergraduate degree at The Glasgow School of Art that my eyes were opened to the outstanding and truly transformative nature of libraries. I was able to nurture my love for art in a place most people associate with stuffy aisles and carpeted floors. The library at Art School was different: it had books on carnival costumes from around the world, traditional Japanese ink paintings, artistic and critical approaches to materiality, and discussions on the social implications of place and space in architecture. This was my first time experiencing such a diverse library collection containing everything I could imagine. It was the same feeling of empowerment and freedom I felt as a child and (bar the giant tuition fees) it was free to borrow books. This was a constant feeling that followed me in life and I was not alone; I would often hear people speak about how significant their local library was to them. For some, it was an introduction to their life’s passion, for others somewhere they could access the internet and computers if they didn’t have it at home, or a place of refuge and wellbeing. I remember a time when my Grandma was taking computer literacy lessons at her local library so she could learn how to send emails and other technology-focused tasks. Libraries are community hubs that centre around inclusion and accessibility, an intergenerational place for learning and entertainment that responds to the needs of the community.
Any creative person or art-lover would agree that public libraries with diverse collections of journals, magazines, art books, films and archives are a haven for inspiration. Visiting a library and diving into its collection is much like going to an exhibition, travelling the world by flicking through the pages of books and seeing indigenous sculptures made in the Caribbean or textile installations representing the resistance of communities in Venezuela. The excitement of learning about methods of working you didn’t even know existed and ways of thinking you’d never considered is transformative.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the public libraries that stock the type of art books, archives and literature that will make your mouth water and imagination bloom.
Tint is a small, independent, non-profit library based in London that provides materials about Black art for the public to enjoy. With the desire to carve out a space that broadens knowledge and research, the library aims to meet the needs of users by curating a diverse and inclusive collection.
Although they are still building their collection, the South East London library currently stocks a variety of materials from zines, books, newspapers, DVDs, photobooks and magazines.
Tint Library is located at The Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 6pm
Collection is done by appointment only.
The Stuart Hall Library is a specialist library, the love-child of Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts). It houses a vast and impressive collection of physical and digital materials that focuses on art from Indigenous, African, Caribbean, Asian, Latin American and UK artists of diverse cultural backgrounds. As well as being a treasure chest of visual art resources, the collection also provides intersectional critical theory texts with a political and international focus.
It's a known place for social, community-minded and intellectual engagement, making it a great example of the transformative nature of public libraries in the UK. For generations, libraries have been spaces for community activities, support and organising. Be it after-school clubs, locations for workshops, language or skill-based learning, or gatherings for political action, libraries act as a safe cultural hub for people to access learning for free. This tradition is kept at The Stuart Hall Library, which is truly a hub for creativity and community; hosting talks, reading groups, exhibitions and artist/research residencies, the library will never fail to supply you with some food for thought.
The library is a reference-only collection of over 10,000 volumes including over 3500 individual artist monographs; 2500+ contextual, historical and theoretical books on the politics of race, class and gender, including 400+ journals with many rare items important to the UK Black Arts Movement. Stuart Hall Library’s growing collection of 260+ artist and activist zines explores different aspects of cultural identity and a substantial audio-visual collection of artists’ films and interviews. The collection also contains over 4000 group exhibition catalogues in dual language, as well as most biennial exhibitions around the world going back to the first Sao Paolo Biennial in 1951.
The Stuart Hall Library is located at 16 John Islip Street, London.
Opening times are Tuesday to Friday from 10am - 5pm
Not just a pretty face; The National Art Library, located in the beautiful walls of the V&A in South Kensington, may be an aesthetically pleasing place to flick through old worn pages of books, but it is also home to the UK's most comprehensive public reference collection of literature on the fine and decorative arts. Its collection includes exhibition catalogues, auction house sales catalogues, comics, archives, children's books, Theatre & Performance research collections and much more. So, if you can handle sitting in a stunning room while you dive into a giant collection- and can resist spending all your money in the surrounding boujee cafes, museums and restaurants - then you should definitely check out the National Art Library!
The National Art Library at the V&A on Cromwell Road, London
Opening times are Tuesday to Thursday from 11am - 5pm
The feeling of achievement and discovery that comes from picking up an art publication or catalogue you’ve never read or seen is another transformative experience that comes with visiting art libraries. There is something that brings a smile to your face when a new view of life has been added to your bank of knowledge, like the smell of freshly baked pastries or the golden star sticker placed on a piece of work you’ve been working on for forever. Libraries can be places that evoke joy and create that ‘aha’ moment.
The Hayward Gallery Library is adjoined to the world-renowned brutalist contemporary art gallery in the Southbank Centre. Although its primary focus is on research resources for curators for exhibitions, the library has an extensive collection that any lover of contemporary art can appreciate. Information and materials available spotlight architecture, critical theory, information on artists, exhibitions and photographs with a prominent international focus on modern and contemporary art.
The library contains a mixture of audio, video and visual material so if the 22,000 books and exhibition catalogues still aren’t enough to tickle your fancy, then you still have more to look through!
If you’d like to search the catalogue before booking your appointment to visit, click here.
Hayward Gallery Art Libary is located in the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London.
Visitors should contact libraryinfo@southbankcentre.co.uk to access the library.
