Bristol Photo Festival: Opening Music w. Jabu, Dan Johnson & Regina Collage

Jabu, Dan Johnson and Regina Collage are playing at Arnolfini on Friday 16 October, as part of the opening of the Bristol Photo Festival 2026. It's a live music session that kicks off the festival, and the party itself takes place in the Arnolfini Theatre.

The music is just one part of the evening. The session opens one of the festival's headline exhibitions, Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey, which brings together more than 150 photographs, films, installations and textile works spanning four decades of Gregory's practice. It's a touring show that started at Whitechapel Gallery in London, where it ran from 8 October 2025 to 3 March 2026; Arnolfini co-organised the tour, and the Freelands Foundation is supporting it.

Joy Gregory (b.1959, UK) graduated from Manchester Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art, and has built her practice around social and political issues. The exhibition is a substantial look back across forty years of her work, so there's plenty to see beyond the opening night.

Logistically, the evening is split into two. There's a preview from 17:00 to 20:00, and then the opening party starts from 20:00, with the music in the Arnolfini Theatre. It's free and all welcome, though you'll need to RSVP via Eventbrite.