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In Focus: Towner, Eastbourne
Towner opened it's 8.58m purpose built gallery on 4 April 2009, designed by Rick Mather Architects and in the three months since has welcomed 38,000 visitors. Comprising exhibition galleries, large scale exhibition halls, facilities for the storage, conservation and research of the Towner Collection, events and workshop rooms, café and shop, the new build provides a bespoke space in which art of both international and regional significance is housed. Accessibility is central to the building's design and reflects Towner's goal to allow the widest possible audience participation in it's collection and exhitions programmes.
The building was one of eighteen worldwide to be shortlisted for the Condé Nast Traveller Innovation and Design Award in the Cultural Category, and was finally placed within the top five
.
Towner's Permanent Collection
Since its foundation in 1923, with a bequest of twenty two paintings and £6000 Towner has expanded it's permanant collection to over 4000 works of British and International art. For ten years between 1994 and 2004 Towner worked with the Contemporary Art Society as part of its Special Collections Scheme to collect artists of international stature including Olafur Eliasson, Tacita Dean and Wolfgang Tillmans. It's commitment to reflecting contemporary art practice in it's collection was further recognised by an Art Fund International award of 1m in 2007 to purchase international contemporary art. The Towner Gallery is working in partnership with the Brighton Photo Biennial and Artsway to purchase works that redefine Eastbourne’s identity through its position on the south coast beside Beachy Head and will subsequently collect art that reflects upon images of edges. These could be real physical boundaries such as the beach, cliffs, the horizon and the edge of urban development, or social frontiers such as national boundaries, conflict zones, or of social migration.
Towner's new building has been designed to allow greater access to the collection. The Collection Store is opened to groups as part of Towner's gallery tours and education programme and to individuals by appointment. A dedicated Art Research Studio know as the Light Box allows individual works to be studied. These new facilities mean Towner's extensive collection of work by the artist and designer Eric Ravilious can be viewed on request, enabling it to become a centre of research for this important figure of early 20th century British Art.
Towner's Exhibition Programme:
The new Towner building has 1260m² of display space which can be adapted: large spaces divide into smaller rooms; light, humdity and temperature can all be altered. The exhibition programme at Towner encompasses temporary exhibitions of international and national contemporary art, emerging British artists and historical work. One temporary exhibition each year is curated to reference the Towner Collection or Towner's location in East Sussex. In addition it's large scale exhibition halls will allow the presentation of major contemporary art installations. Alongside it's temporary exhibition programme, Towner shows changing displays from it's own collection.
Towner On The Town
Over the past nine years, from conception of the capital project to relocation to the new building, Towner has run a series of off-site projects (known as Towner On The Town) which enabled the organistation to develop it's outreach and inclusion programme. During this period Towner was instrumental in Eastbourne Borough Council's acheivement of Beacon Status for Culture with its wrk with Hard to Reach groups. Central to the new building was the requirement that it should be a space in which Towner can continue this work and that the design should embed Towner as a community resource.
Towner is currently working collaboratively on a Grundtvig European Learning Partnership to explore how working with contemporary visual art and art institutions can benefit young adults at risk. It is also examining successful models of gallery education and schools engagement through the enquire research project. In addition Towner will continue partnering agencies working in areas of social, health and economic inequality to engage specific groups of people in creative learning and expression. The new Towner building has dedicated activity and workshop rooms in which to base this work.
The building was one of eighteen worldwide to be shortlisted for the Condé Nast Traveller Innovation and Design Award in the Cultural Category, and was finally placed within the top five
.
Towner's Permanent Collection
Since its foundation in 1923, with a bequest of twenty two paintings and £6000 Towner has expanded it's permanant collection to over 4000 works of British and International art. For ten years between 1994 and 2004 Towner worked with the Contemporary Art Society as part of its Special Collections Scheme to collect artists of international stature including Olafur Eliasson, Tacita Dean and Wolfgang Tillmans. It's commitment to reflecting contemporary art practice in it's collection was further recognised by an Art Fund International award of 1m in 2007 to purchase international contemporary art. The Towner Gallery is working in partnership with the Brighton Photo Biennial and Artsway to purchase works that redefine Eastbourne’s identity through its position on the south coast beside Beachy Head and will subsequently collect art that reflects upon images of edges. These could be real physical boundaries such as the beach, cliffs, the horizon and the edge of urban development, or social frontiers such as national boundaries, conflict zones, or of social migration.
Towner's new building has been designed to allow greater access to the collection. The Collection Store is opened to groups as part of Towner's gallery tours and education programme and to individuals by appointment. A dedicated Art Research Studio know as the Light Box allows individual works to be studied. These new facilities mean Towner's extensive collection of work by the artist and designer Eric Ravilious can be viewed on request, enabling it to become a centre of research for this important figure of early 20th century British Art.
Towner's Exhibition Programme:
The new Towner building has 1260m² of display space which can be adapted: large spaces divide into smaller rooms; light, humdity and temperature can all be altered. The exhibition programme at Towner encompasses temporary exhibitions of international and national contemporary art, emerging British artists and historical work. One temporary exhibition each year is curated to reference the Towner Collection or Towner's location in East Sussex. In addition it's large scale exhibition halls will allow the presentation of major contemporary art installations. Alongside it's temporary exhibition programme, Towner shows changing displays from it's own collection.
Towner On The Town
Over the past nine years, from conception of the capital project to relocation to the new building, Towner has run a series of off-site projects (known as Towner On The Town) which enabled the organistation to develop it's outreach and inclusion programme. During this period Towner was instrumental in Eastbourne Borough Council's acheivement of Beacon Status for Culture with its wrk with Hard to Reach groups. Central to the new building was the requirement that it should be a space in which Towner can continue this work and that the design should embed Towner as a community resource.
Towner is currently working collaboratively on a Grundtvig European Learning Partnership to explore how working with contemporary visual art and art institutions can benefit young adults at risk. It is also examining successful models of gallery education and schools engagement through the enquire research project. In addition Towner will continue partnering agencies working in areas of social, health and economic inequality to engage specific groups of people in creative learning and expression. The new Towner building has dedicated activity and workshop rooms in which to base this work.
The Westbury Horse, 1939 by Eric Ravillious
The Forked Forest Path, 1998 , Olafur Eliasson. Site-specific installation with branches and saplings Variable dimensions Acquired 2004 by the Contemporary Art Society Special Collection Scheme on behalf of the Towner Art Gallery, with funds from the Arts Council Lottery 
