30 April 2010
New Towner Collection display opens this weekend, alongside exhibition by young people in alternative education
A Walk in the Park and Tide Lines: Retracing a Story
Towner, the contemporary art museum
1 May – 26 September 2010
Free admission
Towner’s latest permanent collection display A Walk in the Park will be a celebration of Sussex’s breathtaking natural landscape, in honour of the South Downs’ new National Park status. The display, which opens on 1 May and runs until the end of September, includes a selection of traditional and contemporary art works from Towner’s renowned collection. It will be accompanied by a display curated by young people from Lewes and Eastbourne Virtual College.
Twenty paintings from the collection of Alderman John Chisholm Towner formed the original bequest which founded the Towner permanent collection in 1923. Many of these works depicted landscape scenes, and the collection later expanded through the acquisition of key works specifically depicting the Sussex landscape. A Walk in the Park will feature paintings from the original bequest alongside works by artists including Henry Hine, Ethelbert White, Robert Tavener and Edward Stott, as well as more recent works by Julian La Bas and photographer Jem Southam.
Towner’s collection is one of international acclaim, but also prides itself on being an accessible community resource. The collection is a cornerstone of Towner’s education and learning programme and the gallery is pleased to be able to use its collection once again to engage and inspire.
Towner is the perfect setting for a South Downs display, with the new building offering stunning views of the Downs, and the collection providing Eastbourne with a solid cultural connection to the local landscape.
Showing alongside A Walk in the Park will be a display entitled Tide Lines: Retracing a Story, curated by young people from Lewes and EastbourneVirtualCollege, a school that providesan alternative education for pupils that have been excluded from mainstream school. Tide Lines comprises art created by the young people as well as a selection of artworks they have chosen from Towner’s collection.
Towner’s artist educators and gallery staff joined forces with the Virtual College in November 2009, using Towner’s recently acquired Edward Bawden watercolour September: 8.30pm (Newhaven), painted in 1935, as the starting point for the exhibition.
The pupils investigated the traditional method and approach of Bawden alongside more contemporary mediums such as film and installation. A group trip to the site of September: 8.30pm (Newhaven) began the curatorial process, and the accompanying Towner Collection pieces fit together to relay a story of harbour life.
Towner’s Artistic Director, Matthew Rowe, said “The Downs have always had a special place in the hearts of the Sussex people, and I am delighted that Towner can provide visitors with the opportunity to see artworks linked with our beautiful local landscape.
"I’m also very proud of Towner’s commitment to the local community and I think the young people of the VirtualCollege did a fantastic job curating their own section of the exhibition.
"The South Downs’ new National Park status means that this unique stretch of land can continue to be protected and nurtured for future generations to enjoy – both physically, and through the growing number of artworks celebrating our landscape in the Towner Collection! I think it’s important to acknowledge that Towner is setting a great example to the town and to visitors about cherishing and conserving our natural environment.”
Tide Lines: Retracing a Storyis kindly supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The new exhibition comes at an exciting time for Towner, as the gallery is currently in the running for the prestigious Art Fund Prize, after storming its way into the top 11 galleries and museums in the UK. To be in with a chance of winning the £100,000 prize, Towner needs your vote – please visit the Art Fund Prize website to show your support by voting in the public poll.
