University of Gloucestershire has announced that the gallery at City Campus supporting the work of its Arts, Health and Wellbeing Centre will be named The Bon, celebrating the rich history of the building.
Open to the public during University opening hours, the gallery’s name is a nod to Bon Marché, the department store which occupied the site before it became Debenhams and was affectionately known by generations of Gloucester residents as ‘The Bon’.
Bon Marché first opened in Northgate Street in the late 19th century and grew to become a major Gloucester department store. The business was eventually acquired by Debenhams and the building was renamed in the 1970s.
More than 50 years later, The Bon name will return to the building as the permanent identity of its gallery, connecting its past as a much-loved part of Gloucester city centre with its new role as a place for creativity, learning and community engagement.
The gallery forms part of the University’s Arts, Health and Wellbeing Centre, a partnership with NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board bringing together health and social care practitioners, arts and cultural organisations, academics, students and researchers. The Centre uses innovative practice, research and creative approaches to explore how arts and culture can contribute to better health and wellbeing.
Dame Clare Marchant DBE, Vice-Chancellor of University of Gloucestershire, said: “The transformation of City Campus has celebrated the heritage of this much-loved Gloucester landmark while giving it an exciting new purpose.
“Calling our gallery The Bon is a wonderful way of bringing those two stories together. It is a name that will evoke memories for many people in Gloucester, but it now belongs to a space where new experiences and memories can be created through art, creativity and community.
“We want City Campus to be a place that belongs to the city and the region, and I hope The Bon will become another reason for people to come through our doors and experience what it has to offer.”
City Campus opened its doors in August 2025 following the transformation of the former Debenhams building in King’s Square. The campus is home to University of Gloucestershire’s Education and Psychology programmes, alongside public and community facilities, including Gloucester Library and the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Centre.
Dr Katerina Kantartzis, Associate Professor of Health and Wellbeing and University of Gloucestershire’s Lead for the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Centre, said: “The Bon will be much more than a traditional gallery. It will be a welcoming space where art, health, research and community come together, giving people opportunities to experience creativity and explore the difference it can make to our health and wellbeing.
“It feels particularly fitting that a gallery looking to create new connections with communities across Gloucestershire should carry a name with such strong connections to the people and history of the city.”
The naming of The Bon comes ahead of an ambitious autumn programme of exhibitions, residencies, commissions and artist development activity, rooted in Gloucester and its wider cultural community. This begins in September with a year-long residency by midlands-based artist-curator, Dinosaur Kilby.
The Bon’s first exhibition under its new name will be How Your Heart Beats by Gloucester-based artist-curator Georgia Williams, running from 4 September to 25 October. Marking Williams’ first major solo exhibition, the show will celebrate an artist who has made a significant contribution to Gloucester’s contemporary arts community through both her own work and her support for other artists.
This will be followed by Flourish, presented by Gloucestershire-based arts and health charity Artlift, from 30 October to 15 November.
The gallery’s activities will also form part of Curator Holly Williams-Richards’ practice-based PhD research, using the development and delivery of The Bon’s programme to explore new approaches to curation, artist development and collaboration. As such, it is the first research project of its kind.
Holly Williams-Richards said: “The Bon that will bring a diverse range of artists and work to audiences in the heart of Gloucester.
“I hope that combination of research and practice will enable The Bon to be ambitious in the opportunities it creates for artists, while building strong relationships with the city’s creative community and establishing the gallery as an important part of Gloucester’s cultural landscape.”
