Museum Partner

Ben Uri is a purposeful and scholarly institution that uses art and technology differently to deliver distinctive national programmes.

The Museum was founded in 1915 in Whitechapel by a Russian Jewish émigré artist to provide support for fellow Jewish immigrant artists working outside the mainstream, gaining museum status in 1995. 

Upon reopening in 2002 after 5 years closed, it widened its focus from the Jewish, to also include the immigrant contribution to British Art. 

In 2018, the Museum published a transformative Strategic Plan. The result was a prescient shift to create the first full scale digital museum and research centre complementing its vibrant gallery programming.

The redefined, fully digitised unique collection reflects this wider immigrant landscape and contribution with 880 works by 390 artists, 70% immigrant, 29% women from 45 different countries of birth.

Ben Uri’s strategic objectives are all interlinked and inspired by the collection itself. The expansion of digital content currently presents;

• Over 40 exhibitions, more than 100 films and podcasts, 10,000 pages of archives and more;
• Arts and Mental Health pioneering digital interventions for the 70+ demographic often living with dementia.
• The Ben Uri Research Unit for the study of the Jewish and immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900 which is the centrepiece of their scholarship with over 500 published profiles published to date. 

The rich contribution to British Art made by Jewish, immigrant and refugee artists is in Ben Uri’s DNA.