Hotels near the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

Sainsbury Centre of Visual Arts is a thriving cultural centre based within the grounds of the University of East Anglia. It is the permanent home of the Sainsbury collection, which famously juxtaposes historic world art with modern paintings and sculptures.

A radical design by the then relatively unknown architect Norman Foster, the centre was built to house the art collection of Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury which the couple donated to the university in 1973. Now, more than 25 years on, the collection has more than doubled in size, and two and a half million visitors have passed through the door.

Foster's first public building has undergone major changes to improve facilities. Visitors can now enjoy a new entrance to the main building, additional exhibition areas and a refurbished cafe. There is also much improved access for visitors with disabilities, an internal link between the main building and the Crescent Wing extension, and a new education centre.

The collection includes non-western art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, Mediterranean antiquities and 20th-century sculpture, drawings and painting by Moore, Picasso, Bacon, Giacometti, Epstein, Modigliani and others. The Sainsbury's support for living artists is also much in evidence and there is a lively programme of temporary exhibitions, lectures and events, all of which have a considerable impact on both the university and the region.