For many people, the image of a library is of a place filled with books, but you have to make sure you’re as quiet as a mouse or get told off by one of the librarians. This couldn’t be further from the truth for both the volunteer-run and the council-run public libraries. They have computers for the public to use, regular activities, such as noisy baby music sessions, one off activities such as talks from different writers, a sensory room, computer lessons, a zine and comics fair and taking part in celebrating national or international themes, such as Disability Pride month in July and Neurodiversity Celebration Week in March, which included inviting the local group called SENDIAS Bathnes on certain days and times during the event. The Bath Central Library also has a room where some of these different activities occur, so it can be off limits whilst these activities take place.
Uniquely for a library, this room is also its exhibition space, hosting a varied roster of exhibitions which are all free for the public to visit. The exhibitions often have a local connection, for example, the items are from or about groups from the Bath and North East Somerset area. The exhibitions and events are publicised on Bath Library’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The exhibitions have a range of themes and have previously included the free touring exhibition ‘Make Mine Manga’ – which stopped at Bath Central Library for a couple of months in 2023 and in 2025, ‘Blue’ – an art exhibition in September 2025 displaying different types of artwork with the colour blue as it’s theme, and ‘Care Leavers Lens’ – a photography exhibition held at the beginning of 2024, where the pieces were created by young adults who had experience of being in care and which was originally exhibited at the Egg Theatre in Bath and Keynsham library.
A recent exhibition that took place at the beginning of 2026 was ‘Invitation: An Exhibition’, which was a photography exhibition celebrating the lives and impact of first-generation West Indians who were invited to come to the UK and settled in Bath. It was curated by Samantha Walker, who worked with Bath-based Black and Ethnic Minority Senior Citizens Association (BEMSCA). This exhibition, as well as receiving local press coverage, also gained national exposure, for example, through a recorded piece on ITV news, a BBC News article and an article in The Voice newspaper, which is a newspaper for the UK’s Black community.
The current exhibition at the Bath Central Library, as part of the Art in the Library scheme, is called ‘Crafting Your Story’. It’s a collaboration between Bath’s Carers’ Centre and the National Trust’s Bath Assembly Rooms, who ran a short art course in 2025 for Bath carers, and the artwork they produced will be on display between the 6th to the 28th May 2026.
Do not fear if you missed any of the previous or current exhibitions held at the library, as there will be a varied range of exhibitions for you to visit in the future. The various exhibitions display quality work from art professionals, aspiring professionals and amateurs alike. The best part is that it’s free, and there should be something available for everyone without ever having to enter an art gallery or museum, though you might be inspired to do just that.
