Barbican Arts Centre

Description

A cultural hub based in the concrete brutalist estate next to the Barbican tube station, it was built in the 1960s by the City of London to encourage people to live and socialise in the city.

Today is it one of the UK’s leading art and theatre venues, with regular events every day, art exhibitions and films.

The art centre is free to visit and wander around, and some of the art exhibits are also free, but most of the theatre/film events have to be paid for.

There is also a public library, which often has local artist exhibitions in the foyer, and the Music Library regularly has related exhibitions as well.

The conservatory is the second largest in London and is also open to visit.

Address

Silk Street,
London,
EC2Y 8DS

Ticket prices

The main building is free to visit, as is the library and library exhibitions.

Other exhibitions and events may charge.

Prices last checked June 2023

Link to Barbican Arts Centre website

Opening Hours

The main building is open from 9.30am to 11pm every day, and between noon to 11pm on Bank Holidays.

Individual exhibitions and the library will have different opening hours though, so check before making a special trip.

Opening hours last checked June 2023

Accessibility

The building is fully accessible with lifts to all floors.

Note, it's much easier to arrive via the Silk Street entrance.

The full details for accessibility are

Address

Barbican Arts Centre
Silk Street,
London,
EC2Y 8DS

Map

Take a look inside the Barbican’s boiler room before the Big Upgrade

Feb
05
2025

Barbican upgrade plans shown off – more loos, more lifts, more access

Jan
30
2025

Tickets Alert: Late openings at the Barbican’s heated conservatory

Jan
22
2025

Barbican seeks wayfinding designers to improve its baffling layout

Dec
12
2024

Barbican Art Centre gets £191 million to fund essential upgrades

Dec
05
2024

Tickets Alert: Behind the scenes tours of the Barbican theatre

Oct
24
2024

Emo fan retrospective exhibition at the Barbican’s music library

Oct
18
2024

The Imaginary Institution of India Art at the Barbican

Oct
16
2024

A free weekend of Indian art and culture at the Barbican this October

Aug
16
2024

Tickets Alert: Behind the scenes tours of the Barbican theatre

Jul
11
2024

A visit to St Giles without Cripplegate in the Barbican

Jun
25
2024

70 Years of Japanese monster movies at the Barbican

Jun
20
2024

Ibrahim Mahama wraps the Barbican Art Centre in massive pink fabrics

Apr
11
2024

A feast of fabric at the Barbican

Mar
11
2024

Friday and Saturday lates at the Barbican Conservatory

Mar
06
2024

Barbican’s brutalist building about to be covered in a giant sheet of purple fabric

Feb
06
2024

Memories in Monochrome: Barbican celebrates the impact of Two-Tone

Jan
16
2024

London Underground portraits on show at the Barbican

Jan
09
2024

Ranjani Shettar’s floating sculptures grace London’s second-largest conservatory

Nov
30
2023

An unexpected discovery behind a Barbican sign

Nov
02
2023

Barbican Art Centre starts £25 million upgrade

Jul
20
2023

The magic of music concerts captured in photography

Jun
21
2023

There’s a scale model of the Barbican estate in the Barbican Arts Centre

Jun
15
2023

Comic sketches of London’s architecture in the Barbican Library

Jun
08
2023

Alice Neel at the Barbican Arts Gallery

Feb
27
2023

There’s a Status Quo exhibition at the Barbican

Feb
21
2023

More News from the archive

Exhibitions open now

Citra Sasmita Into Eternal Land

Citra Sasmita Into Eternal LandThe Indonesian artist transforms The Curve in her first solo UK exhibition. Via painting, installation, embroidery and scent, take a sensory journey exploring ancestral memory, ritual and migration.

Exhibition ends on Monday 21st Apr
Free
Barbican Arts Centre, Barbican

Noah Davis

Noah DavisCelebrating the late artist’s expansive creativity, this debut retrospective showcases Noah Davis as one of the most original and uncanny painters emerging in recent years.

Exhibition ends on Sunday 11th May
£19.50
Barbican Arts Centre, Barbican

Top events happening here

Concrete Garden: Fertile Ground

Concrete Garden: Fertile GroundStep inside the Barbican's tropical oasis for a day of readings, talks and workshops on plants and fertile ground.

Sun 23 Mar 2025 - 12:00pm to 7:00pm
Free

Theatre

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a heartfelt musical that blends tradition, love, and resilience against the backdrop of upheaval in early 20th-century Tsarist Russia.

Open between 24th May and 19th Jul

Good Night, Oscar

Good Night, OscarGood Night, Oscar brings the brilliance and turmoil of Oscar Levant to the West End, with Sean Hayes delivering a masterful performance in this gripping tale of music, wit, and authenticity.

Open between 31st Jul and 21st Sep