6 May 2010
'Piers and Promenades'
Towner, the contemporary art museum
8 May – 31 May 2010
Free admission
Step back in time as you enter Towner’s latest exhibition, and relive the glory of Eastbourne as a top Victorian seaside resort. Towner has teamed up with arts organisation Musikata to put on this exhibition of stunning artwork by pupils from Moira House Girls School, alongside works from the renowned Towner Collection. 'Piers and Promenades' is an exploration of Eastbourne’s majestic seaside heritage, showing throughout May.
Eastbourne’s beloved Pier, along with the CarpetGardens, the Bandstand, the RNLILifeboatMuseum, the WishTower and the Grand Hotel will all feature in the exhibition, organised by the not-for-profit community arts organisation Musikata and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (which also helped to fund the development of the spectacular new Towner).
The students worked closely with Musikata to conduct research for 'Piers and Promenades', sourcing material from local and national archives, as well as meeting historians and experts on the sites. A further group of students, under professional guidance, spent the summer of 2009 photographing the six locations for the exhibition.
The girls focussed on the seafront promenade from Eastbourne Pier to the Grand Hotel, thus Towner was perfectly placed to contribute to the project, both in terms of its new location by the seafront, and its own unique heritage in the form of the Towner Collection. Since the original bequest that founded the Towner permanent collection in 1923, Towner has continued to acquire key artworks of Eastbourne and the surrounding region, and the works selected for this exhibition perfectly complement the students’ photography.
Though the Towner Collection is an internationally renowned art collection, it also epitomises a public collection as a community resource, and forms a cornerstone of Towner’s education and learning programme. As such, Towner is pleased to be able to use its collection once again to engage and inspire.
Matthew Rowe, Artistic Director of Towner says of the new exhibition: “The quality of artwork produced by the pupils is simply exceptional, and I am delighted that Towner has been able to put their work on public display, as well as complementing it with a variety of historical artworks from the Towner Collection.
“'Piers and Promenades' provides visitors with a fascinating opportunity to explore Eastbourne’s grand past at Towner, which is only a few minutes walk from the featured sites – it’s the perfect seaside setting for this unique exhibition!
“Towner itself is a very prominent thread in the rich tapestry of Eastbourne’s heritage, and this exhibition shows once again that Towner remains a wonderful resource for our town and for the region.”
The Towner Collection artworks featured in 'Piers and Promenades' depict Eastbourne through the ages, dating back to the Victorian era. The exhibition celebrates the diversity of the Eastbourne coastline, and encourages people to look at their owntowns and villages to discover more about the history within.
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 website to show your support by voting in the public poll – but hurry, the poll closes on 7 May.
