2 February 2011 Eastbourne’s award-winning Towner is celebrating its current Tomoaki Suzuki exhibition with a string of events over the next couple of months offering visitors the chance to really interact with the incredibly lifelike figurines on show at the gallery.
Visitors can already use beanbags and stools to physically get down onto the gallery floor and connect with Suzuki’s figurative sculptures at eye level but Towner is going one step further, with a Tomoaki Suzuki Weekend from 19-20 February offering a variety of events for all ages and levels of interest - including the chance for visitors to create figurines of their own.
The weekend will be crammed with demonstrations, Suzuki inspired film screenings, and a special Family Day on the Sunday. Taking Suzuki’s sculptures of real people with a distinctive street style as inspiration, families can enjoy a free drop-in event with the chance to make miniature self-portrait figurines in plasticine, or small puppets based on the characters in the exhibition.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure, Cllr Neil Stanley said “The Tomoaki Suzuki exhibition is really making waves in Eastbourne and proving very popular with visitors and residents. We are really excited to expand the exhibition with some quirky and interactive events offering the chance for Towner visitors to have a go at making their own figurines, enjoy movie screenings, and even watch the artist at work in a talk and wood carving demonstration that has already sold out!
“With Club Tokyo also coming up in March, following on from the successful Studio 54 evening last year, I’d encourage everyone to go along and enjoy some truly unique experiences in our fantastic gallery space.”
Not only can visitors make their own figures at the Tomoaki Suzuki Family Day but they and their family can also work together to create a giant 2D figure in Towner’s special Heads, Bodies and Tails drawing game – which visitors can cut out, colour and take home! Artist Jane Henderson will on hand throughout the day to help.
Visitors can also enjoy free film screenings throughout the weekend. The documentary Whispering Gaze will be shown at 11am, 1pm & 3pm on Saturday 19 February, giving visitors the chance to watch sculptor Katsura Funakoshi, a major influence on Tomoaki Suzuki, as he breathes life into Camphor wood. And on Sunday 20 February, there will be two screenings of Spirited Away, Chihiro’s story of her family’s battle for freedom, which won the 2003 Oscar for Best Animated Film and is Japan’s most successful film of all time.
And coming up in March, Towner will be transformed into Club Tokyo, promising visitors another chance to experience a taste of Suzuki’s world. Towner is teaming up once again with Melting Vinyl to stage a special Japanese themed club and multimedia arts night on Saturday 5 March.
The Tomoaki Suzuki exhibition is free and is on at Towner until 6 March. For more information on events coming up go to the VisitEastbourne website or call Towner on 01323 434670.
