Gallery and Anita's Room

The completion of Anita’s Room was marked by a visit from Gordon Roddick, husband of Anita Roddick, Brighton & Hove City Council Labour leader, Bella Sankey, and our Chief Executive, Andrew Comben.

Anita's Room is now fully equipped with a lighting grid, mixing desk and the latest 5G technology. It can accommodate up to 40 people within its main space, office and kitchen areas.

The finished Gallery Bar.

An interactive digital timeline in the Gallery Bar will allow visitors to explore Brighton Dome’s rich heritage.

Architectural design studio Drinkall Dean used the Corn Exchange’s history as a riding house as inspiration for the Gallery Bar’s décor and installed a spectacular golden horse sculpture by West Sussex-based artist Graham Heeley.

Work on the Festival bar is completed. The wallpaper, designed by Mike McInnerney who created album art for The Who, is based on the poster for the first Brighton Festival in 1967.

Flooring was installed in Anita's Room

The exterior of the Studio Theatre and New Road Offices were cleaned and restored. Originally outdoors, these structures now form part of the interior to the rear of the Gallery Bar.

Preperations were made for putting the ceiling in Anita's Room.

Wooden beams are put in place as work starts on the ceiling of the Festival Bar.

Work on Anita's Room was well underway.

The steel structure for the new space was installed, and the scaffolding started to go up for the walls and roofing to be put in.

Each level of the new space, which would become the Festival and Gallery Bars and Anita's Room were boarded out, as preparations started for the glass roof to be installed.

All of the steel structure for the Gallery has been installed now, with scaffolding starting to go up for the walls and roofing to be put in. 

The structure of the new space was put in place along one side.

Work began on putting foundations in place, particularly for the below-ground level.

During building works, there was a fascinating discovery of 18 burials, which were later found to have been part of a Quaker burial ground from before Brighton Dome was built by the Prince Regent. 

Spaces beneath the Corn Exchange windows (east) were dug out to frame new and existing entrances between the Corn Exchange and Festival Bar.

The landlocked area between the Corn Exchange and surrounding buildings was excavated to prepare for a brand new featuring two bars and a creative space for artists and community groups, called Anita’s Room.