A lot of us would gladly spend all day frolicking on the beach. But if you fancy mixing sandcastles and chip butties with a bit of art and culture, we have a hip and happening collection of galleries, just a stone’s throw away from our White Sand Cottages that offer more than the occasional sand sculpture or flower bed display….
Jerwood Gallery in Hastings
Gleaming on Rock-A-Nore Road among Hastings Old Town’s wooden fishing huts is the newest edition to the seaside art scene. Jerwood Gallery opened on 17 March and is now the permanent home for the Jerwood Collection, which includes around two hundred British oil paintings and works on paper by the likes of L.S Lowry, Sir Stanley Spencer and Walter Sickert along with contemporary artists like Maggi Hambling and Prunella Clough. The art continues outside, as the gallery itself is coated in over 8,000 hand-glazed ceramic tiles that reflect the light and constant movement of this historic seaside resort.
De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill On Sea
Just a little further along the East Sussex coast is the De La Warr Pavilion, another contemporary art gallery within 1066 Country. Oozing modernist elegance with its curved balconies and swish spiral staircases, De La Warr makes the most of its grade one-listed assets – both inside and out. It’s had Antony Gormley’s life-sized human sculptures resting all over its roof, Andy Warhol screaming from its walls, and this year as part of the London 2012 Festival, will see famous sculptor-cum-illusionist Richard Wilson recreate an iconic scene from The Italian Job by dangling a bus off the gallery’s rooftop.
Turner Contemporary in Margate, Kent
Crossing the border into Kent, you’ll find creativity splattered all along the coast, from the bohemian haven of Whitstable to Folkestone’s Creative Quarter. But the gallery that’s kicking up a storm the Romantics would be most proud of is the Turner Contemporary, slap-bang on Margate’s seafront. With over 300,000 visitors in its first seven months, the gallery has added a new perspective to the world-famous Rodin’s The Kiss sculpture and holds a permanent collection that features the sunset-drenched landscapes of JMW Turner. What’s more, as part of the London 2012 Festival, it will put on a major free exhibition by Tracy Emin, one of England’s most famous female artists and a Margate local.
Saffron Art Gallery in Battle – Another established gallery in 1066 Country. This year sees the gallery host a collection of Olympic athlete body sculptures by Louise Giblin.
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