Address: 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London, E1 7QX, United Kingdom
Phone: +442075227888
Rating: 4.2
based on 191 reviews.
Accessibility
Pros:
"The Whitechapel Gallery is located in the heart of East London, and is easily accessible by public transport (Aldgate East being the closest tube)."
"Open all year round and close to the Aldgate station, there's always something interesting to see."
"It's easy enough to get to - just maybe check whats on before you visit."
"Clean, airy & easily accessible by transport links."
"Really enjoyed my (brief) visit, and the place is straightforward to access (via steps) from the tube."
"The place was easy to find, but the gallery was too small. I was shocked."
"It was easy to find place in the heart of Whitechapel."
Cons:
"I do not know if the entrance is wheelchair friendly (entrance has several steps) but it has an elevator inside to reach to the 1st floor."
"It was difficult to actually spot the building especially as it is so hectic outside and all of the buildings around it look quite tired."
"A bit hard to find where to buy tickets for the shows."
"Somehow for the life of me, I couldn’t never figure out the opening times."
"Somewhat slightly confusing layout, but a pleasant place to spend an hour or so."
"Not really what we were expecting. By no means an art enthusiast but do love looking at interesting art."
"Navigating the building isn't easy, the spaces don't really feel like gallery spaces."
Exhibitions & Artwork
Pros:
"Particularly enjoyed work by Daniel Richter - amazing use of colour."
"An amazing and huge space. We visited for the superb, inspiring and eye-opening expo of women abstract expressionists."
"Always a great visit; this time we went to see Nicole Eisenman's exhibition, the first major UK retrospective, spread in three floors and beautifully curated."
"The exhibits introduced you to many different societal perspectives while also explaining them well so you didn't feel like you were just looking at gibberish."
"Wonderful Gallery showing major works from interesting and alternative artists from around the world."
"Currently showing a beautiful installation of a Korean hut, life and death journey, also a Roma exhibition."
"The current exhibition of the work of 150 women artists including Helen Frankenthaler, Gillian Ayres and Lee Krasner between 1940 and 1970 is outstanding."
Cons:
"Unfortunately there was nothing to see really. Only 2 rooms were open."
"Not that great of a gallery, definitely far better ones to experience in London."
"The free galleries take about 30 minutes to go through, even watching the tediously boring video installations."
"I find the main exhibitions rather expensive and usually lack that wow factor."
"Nothing inspired me to pay the extortionate £17 for the paid exhibition."
"Alas, when I visited recently there was only one tiny free exhibition on as some spaces were being prepared for new exhibitions and the others were being used for a major paid exhibition."
"Completely uninteresting exhibits, with no explanation of what they were meant to represent, or why they were there."
Facilities & Services
Pros:
"Beautiful place with lots of character and unique overall feel."
"Excellent contemporary gallery with large space ideal for art display."
"A really lovely building both inside and out."
"There's also a refrectory and library. A great community spot."
"The gallery was very clean, temperatures were taken open entry and crowd control in all the rooms made me feel safe."
"The Whitechapel Gallery dining room has a menu full of freshly prepared European style meat/fish dishes."
"They have a nice shop/bookstore."
Cons:
"The outside of the gallery was more impressive than the exhibits inside."
"The gallery didn't have great exhibitions when we were there and it wasn't clear what was open/closed paid/free."
"The lift was broken when we went, and the small cafe was expensive, though our meal was very good."
"The cafe is pleasant but has gone downhill since it moved within the building; good food but sometimes a little sloppy in table cleaning etc."
"The cafe inside was also a huge disappointment very small selection and reminiscent of a one man job on one of those cafe vans at the side of the road."
"My only criticism is that the toilet bins were overflowing."
"I walked through the wrong door and was hustled out forcibly for not having a sticker on my jacket."
Staff & Customer Service
Pros:
"It's a nice place, the hostess is nice and very helpful."
"A great space, great staff, not crowded, easy to travel to."
"Enthusiastic informative staff."
"Staff was great. Very friendly and responsive."
"Very helpful staff. Well worth a visit."
"All the staff members there were exceptionally helpful and accommodating."