Tate St Ives

Modern art with its feet in the Atlantic

Few galleries anywhere have a setting quite like Tate St Ives - its curved white facade looks straight out over Porthmeor Beach and the Atlantic, on the site of a former gasworks that once supplied the town. It opened in 1993 to celebrate St Ives' remarkable role in 20th-century British art: from the 1920s onwards the town drew a colony of modern artists including Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and the Russian constructivist Naum Gabo, followed later by painters such as Patrick Heron and Terry Frost, all captivated by the quality of light along this stretch of coast.

The gallery shows a changing programme of temporary exhibitions alongside displays from its permanent collection with strong Cornish connections - including works by Hepworth, Gabo, Marlow Moss and Heron. As of August 2026, current shows include Aleksandra Kasuba: Shelters for the Senses and a solo exhibition by ceramicist Halima Cassell, alongside the longer-running displays Modern Conversations and Anna Farley's Your Space.

In 2017 Tate St Ives completed a £20 million extension, designed by Jamie Fobert Architects and excavated some 15 metres into the cliff behind the original building. The project added nearly 600 square metres of new space - including a major new exhibition gallery, workshops and offices - and for the first time let the gallery stay open all year round, rather than closing for weeks between exhibitions as it previously had to.

Opening Times & Ticket Prices

Open daily, 10am-5.20pm, all year round.

Adult, with donation £15.50

Adult, without donation £14.00

Concession, with donation £14.50

Concession, without donation £13.00

Under 18s Free

Free for Tate Members and Locals Pass holders. Contact the gallery for details of any combined ticket with the Barbara Hepworth Museum.