Towner Art Gallery is located in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. It hosts one of the most significant public art collections in the

South of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

and draws over 100,000 visitors a year. It was described by ITV News as "the region's biggest art gallery", in 2017. It was established with a bequest in 1920, from John Chisholm Towner who had served as a local

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

. It was first homed in Manor Gardens, adjacent to Gildredge Park in the Old Town area of Eastbourne. Opening there in 1923, it closed when the building was sold in 2005. In 2009, it re-opened in a purpose-built facility adjacent to the Congress Theatre, near Eastbourne's seafront. The venue will host the 2023

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

History

The Towner Gallery was established as a project in 1920 following the death that year of Alderman John Chisholm Towner, who left 22 paintings, £6,000 and instructions for the establishment of an art gallery. This bequest was made for the benefit of the people of Eastbourne; the undertaking was entrusted to a local group of supporters and the local council.

1923 opening

For 72 years, the Gallery was located within a Manor House on the High Street in the Old Town area. The Manor House, located within its own Manor Gardens, dated to the 18th century, but was taken over in the 1920s for public use as a public gallery and local museum, following Towner's bequest. A noted historic building in Eastbourne, the Manor House is dwarfed in age by its neighbours; being opposite the Lamb Inn, dating back to 1180AD and St Mary's Church, from the same period. Despite having been owned by the town as a public facility for most of the 20th century, the Manor House and gardens were sold in 2005/6 by the local authority,

Eastbourne Borough Council Eastbourne Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Eastbourne in East Sussex. Eastbourne is divided into 9 local wards, which each elect 3 borough councillors as local representatives, creating a total of 27 councillors. The ...

2005–2009: no gallery or museum

In 2009, after a gap of several years during which Eastbourne had no local art gallery or museum, Towner reopened in a purpose-built gallery building adjacent to the Congress Theatre. Funders of the new gallery included the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and

2009: new building

Towner Contemporary, Eastbourne (6849836834)

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

, at a cost of £8.6m, the new gallery building was planned to be more easily accessible to the public and to store the 4,000 works of the growing collection in a safe and climate-controlled manner. Visually, it was designed to reflect the chalk cliffs of the Eastbourne Downs. Unlike the old building, no provision was made to incorporate a local museum, though substantially more space was created for a café, shop and larger exhibitions.

2014: transfer of ownership from Eastbourne Borough Council

In 2014,

transferred operation of the Gallery to a newly-created independent charitable trust.

David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme ''Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...

was appointed the Chair of Trustees. The Council retained ownership of the Gallery's building and its collection of artworks.

2017: threats of closure

Despite no longer directly operating the Gallery,

remained a major annual funder, alongside Arts Council England. In 2017, cuts in the local authority's funding of 50% were proposed. This threatens the gallery with closure to some or all of its services and the greater use of admission charges for access to public art.

2022: Refurbishment

From 2021 to 2022 the Gallery significantly remodelled its ground floor and cinema to "improve the visitor experience, build visitor engagement and increase Towner’s financial sustainability." Design was led by architects Manalo & White.

Collections and exhibitions

Towner Collection

The Towner Collection is one of the most significant public art collections in the South East of England. It boasts in excess of 5,000 works of art by historic, modern and contemporary artists including:

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, (; born Lourens Alma Tadema ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom becoming the last officially recognised denizen in 1873. Born in Dronryp, the Netherlands, ...

, John Gascoigne Lake,

Vanessa Bell Vanessa Bell (née Stephen; 30 May 1879 – 7 April 1961) was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury Group and the sister of Virginia Woolf (née Stephen). Early life and education Vanessa Stephen was the eld ...

David Bomberg David Garshen Bomberg (5 December 1890 – 19 August 1957) was a British painter, and one of the Whitechapel Boys. Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art under Henr ...

Alan Davie James Alan Davie (28 September 1920 – 5 April 2014) was a Scottish painter and musician. Biography Davie was born in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1920, the son of Elizabeth (née Turnbull) and James William Davie, an art teacher and painter who ...

, Tacita Dean,

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson ( is, Ólafur Elíasson; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's ...

Anya Gallaccio Anya Gallaccio (born 1963) is a British artist, who creates site-specific, minimalist installations and often works with organic matter (including chocolate, sugar, flowers and ice). Her use of organic materials results in natural processes ...

, Thomas Jones,

Peter Liversidge Peter Liversidge (born 1973) is a British contemporary artist notable for his diverse artistic practice and use of proposals. Personal life Peter Liversidge studied Fine Art in Exeter at the University of Plymouth and film and photography at M ...

, Henry Moore,

Cedric Morris Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet (11 December 1889 – 8 February 1982) was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea in South Wales, but worked mainly in East Anglia. As an artist he is best known for his portra ...

, William Nicholson, Julian Opie, Ian Potts,

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Eric Ravilious,

Eric Slater ''Eric Slater should not be confused with another Eric Slater who designed ceramics in the 1930s.'' Eric Brindley Slater (1896 – 13 March 1963) was an English printmaker. Biography Eric Slater was a colour woodcut artist who had an international ...

, Wolfgang Tillmans,

Alfred Wallis Alfred Wallis (18 August 1855 – 29 August 1942) was a British fisherman and artist known for his port landscapes and shipping scenes painted in a naïve style. Having no artistic training, he began painting at the age of 70, using househo ...

, Christopher Wood, Joseph Wright of Derby and

Carol Wyatt Carol Wyatt (born 4 October 1946) is a British artist known as a painter and for her stage designs for opera productions. Biography Wyatt studied at the Wimbledon School of Art during 1966 and 1967 and at the Camberwell School of Art from 19 ...

. The initial collection consisted mainly of Victorian narrative painting, especially pictures of animals and children. The current collection now includes oil paintings, watercolours, works on paper, etchings, prints, sculpture, wood cuts, ceramic objects, installations and video art. Since the gallery was established it has received donations of work by significant artists including:

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

, Henry Moore,

Frances Hodgkins Frances Mary Hodgkins (28 April 1869 – 13 May 1947) was a New Zealand painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born and raised in New Zealand, but spent most of her working ...

Phelan Gibb Harry Phelan Gibb (a.k.a. William Phelan "Harry" Gibb) (1870–1948) was a British artist influenced by the work of Paul Cézanne, who exhibited in London, Paris and New York.Buckman, David 998 Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945, Art ...

and

. By 1962

the Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

said it was "the most go-ahead municipal gallery of its size in the country". This was mainly because of the purchase of a group of works by modern abstract artists of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1962, the Rector of Berwick Church gave over 35 studies and sketches for the Berwick Church murals. As a result of the first curator's ‘Pictures of Sussex’ policy the Towner Collection gradually increased. Pictures were acquired of subjects relating to Sussex. This scheme was later extended to allow inclusion of pictures executed by Sussex artists regardless of subject matter. Village Street - Eric Ravilious

A key element of the collection is the work of Eric Ravilious, who studied and taught at Eastbourne School of Art. In 1982, the family of the artist deposited on loan an important body of his work. The Towner holds the broadest collection of paintings, illustrations and commercial designs in the world, by this important modern British artist of the early 20th century.

South East Arts Collection of Contemporary Art

As a result of an agreement made in 1983, the Towner houses the South East Arts Collection of Contemporary Art. Further bequests in 1988 and 1990 considerably enhanced the collection, and the commitment to purchasing contemporary art was recognised nationally.

Exhibitions

The Towner Art Gallery's first curator started the practice of arranging temporary exhibitions to be shown alongside displays from the permanent collection which have become a major feature of the Towner's programme.

Learning and community programmes

The Towner Art Gallery works as an educational arts centre, delivering programmes to thousands of people of all ages. In the process, it works with schools, colleges, libraries, museums, health care providers, youth services, universities and community groups.

Annual Schools Exhibition

The Gallery's Annual Schools Exhibition is one of the largest regular displays of artwork by children at schools in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Eastbourne Sunshine Carnival

The Gallery participates in the annual local carnival, running workshops to create artwork with local schools for public display and celebration.

Arts Award

The Gallery offers support for the national Arts Award programme of qualifications, for ages 5 to 25. It has been given 'Good Practice' status by Trinity College, London and Arts Council England, "in recognition of the depth and breadth of creative practice."

Fuse Box

The Gallery has a learning room called Fuse Box, which offers a changing interactive environment designed alongside the temporary exhibitions in the main gallery space.

The Sussex Open

The Gallery holds an annual public competition, accepting submissions from artists in the region, for exhibition and acceptance into the permanent collection. Artists who have previously been first exhibited in this exhibition, have gone on to be selected for John Moore's Painting Prize, the Jerwood Drawing Prize, the BFI Film Festival in the experimental film category and have been shortlisted for the Mark Tanner Sculpture Prize. In 2017, the catchment area was expanded to include artists based in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, as well as East Sussex where the Gallery is based. Categories for submission cover a range of media:

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

, drawing, film,

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

References

External links

Towner Eastbourne's Website
— The official gallery's website..
Eastbourne.gov.uk
— Towner on Eastbourne Borough Council's website. {{authority control Art museums and galleries in East Sussex Contemporary art galleries in England Modern art museums Museums in East Sussex Buildings and structures in Eastbourne Art museums established in 1920 1920 establishments in England