Last updated: 23 October 2026, 09:54 BST.
This De La Warr Pavilion guide is for Brighton and Sussex readers looking for a gallery visit whose basic admission cost is clear before they travel: entry to the Bexhill building and galleries is free, with no general-admission booking required.
There are two current exhibitions to plan around, both scheduled to continue until 3 January 2027. The practical details below were checked on 23 October 2026. This is a sourced visit guide, rather than a first-hand review of the exhibitions, café or access facilities.
At a glance
- Address: De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill, East Sussex, TN40 1DP.
- Building and galleries: seven days a week, 10am–5pm, according to the venue’s current hours.
- General building and gallery admission is free; advertised performances have separate arrangements.
- Two exhibitions run from 10 October 2026 to 3 January 2027.
- Contact customer services on 01424 229111 or customerservice@dlwp.com for specific access questions.
De La Warr Pavilion guide: what is on this autumn?
Prem Sahib: Chamber is in the ground-floor gallery. The venue describes an exhibition spanning more than 20 years of the artist’s practice, with sculptures, installations, paintings and sound. Familiar objects and architectural materials are used to explore how people experience spaces.
Upstairs, Gordon Matta-Clark: Discrete Violations brings together photographs, drawings, notebooks, correspondence and films. The artist is known for interventions in buildings, but visitors should expect the documented work listed by the gallery, rather than assume they will encounter a building being cut apart on site.
Both exhibitions are scheduled from Saturday 10 October to Sunday 3 January. Read their individual pages before travelling if there is a particular work or aspect you want to see. A shared closing date does not establish opening hours on a bank holiday or guarantee that every space will remain accessible throughout a building project.
The regional tourism organisation Visit 1066 Country also lists the Pavilion as free to enter and open daily. Our De La Warr Pavilion directory entry brings together the address, map and official contact links.
What is free, and what needs a separate budget?
The venue’s opening-times page confirms free building and gallery entry without booking. It also says the building opens in the evening for advertised events. That evening access should not be read as an extension of the daytime gallery hours.
The useful budgeting distinction is between seeing the exhibitions and adding a performance, refreshments or shopping. You can plan a gallery visit without committing to those extras. If you want an evening event, use its own official listing to check price, start time and access arrangements rather than extrapolate from free daytime admission.
Café and shop: check the shorter hours
The Café Bar & Kitchen is listed as open 10am–4.30pm, with breakfast 10–11.30am, lunch noon–3pm and last orders at 4pm. It takes walk-ins. Arriving near the building’s 5pm closing time is therefore not the same as arriving in time for a meal.
The visit page also lists a shop open daily and Music’s Not Dead, an independent record store in the foyer. These are optional stops, rather than part of a paid admission package. We have not independently reviewed their stock, food or service.
Access questions worth resolving before departure
The official access page lists ramped access at the front, a lift to all floors, accessible galleries on both floors and accessible toilets. It also describes sensory bags available to sign out and two travel wheelchairs intended for use inside the Pavilion, subject to availability.
If your visit depends on a lift, a wheelchair or another particular facility, contact the venue before travelling. A published list of facilities is useful preparation but cannot confirm that a particular item will be available when you arrive. For a ticketed event, ask about the limited assistance-ticket arrangements separately.
Travel and the building project
The Pavilion is on Bexhill seafront at the address above. Its visit page links to Good Journey’s car-free directions. Check current train and bus journeys for your own departure time rather than assume a direct service or a fixed journey length from Brighton.
The venue’s building-project information explains a phased programme of restoration and improvements. Check current visitor notices alongside the exhibition pages, particularly if your aim is to see the architecture or use a specific entrance. Our featured photograph is a dated archive image and does not show today’s works.
Brighton Locals’ view
Editorial judgement: the Pavilion is a useful option for a visit where you can control the admission budget, with two exhibitions under one roof. The trade-off for Brighton readers is the journey: free entry does not remove transport costs or access planning. Choose the exhibitions because their subject interests you, then check the practical details before committing to the trip.
For a shorter Brighton alternative, our Fabrica visit guide covers an exhibition closing on 28 October. Further east, the Hastings Museum guide provides another free-entry option with its own opening-day checks.
A Bexhill gallery day can begin with a simple choice: two free exhibitions, then only the extras you actually want.
Archive: De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, 6 September 2015. Photo: PAUL FARMER / Geograph via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Not the current exhibitions or building works. Resized for display.
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