4 June 2008
Vacant shop units in Terminus Road are about to become the latest location for the Towner Offsite project.
Oversize reproductions of artworks from the Towner Collection are to be displayed in the windows of disused shops along the seafront end of Terminus Road in a bid to not only promote the new gallery but to also regenerate the local area.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet spokesperson for tourism Councillor Steve Wallis says, “Terminus Road is a gateway for visitors to Eastbourne – linking the station to the seafront. We hope that this project will encourage local businesses and visitors back to this important part of town.”
The Towner Art Gallery have been working closely with the Council’s Economic Development department, who are also pleased to acknowledge the help and support of Marcus King, the owners of the units, in developing this project.
It is hoped that the project will encourage all owners of empty units in the town centre to work with their agents, whilst seeking new occupiers, to provide similar opportunities to improve the appearance of their premises and enhance the visual amenity of their area.
A similar project has already been successfully implemented by Brighton & Hove City Council to tackle graffiti and vandalism in certain parts of Brighton.
The collection artworks can be seen at No 222 and 226 Terminus Road. No 222 will display Fields near Rievaulx, a relatively modern landscape, painted by David Reeve-Fowkes in 1984. David was a relation of Arthur Reeve-Fowkes who significantly was the 1st ever curator of the Towner Art Gallery. On display two doors up is Tirzah Garwood’s Hornet with Wild Roses, painted by 1950. Garwood was the wife of Eastbourne’s best know artist, Eric Ravillious and Hornet with Wild Roses was recently voted in the ‘top 50 paintings outside of London’ by the Sunday Telegraph.
Both paintings form the beginnings of a larger offsite project which will promote the People’s Choice exhibition, programmed to run from November – December 2008 in the new gallery. Residents of Eastbourne will be asked to vote for their favourite painting or sculpture from the collection and give reasons for their selection. Those works receiving the most votes will go on display in this exhibition to celebrate the opening of the new gallery.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing health and Community services Councillor Margaret Bannister says, “It is a fantastic opportunity to bring the Towner Collection out into the public realm. It will give more people the opportunity to enjoy these works of art, that belongs to the town, in a unique outdoor setting.”
The Towner collection comprises almost 4000 works. The collection is currently under wraps while it undergoes rigorous conservation and restoration work in the run up to the gallery opening, November 2008, when many pieces will be on display. Those items not on display will be kept in a state of the art, custom built area, suitable for storing such a unique collection.
Parts of the Towner collection will also be on display in Uckfield Civic Centre from 3 – 19 June as part of the
Collection Connections education project.
