Silent Voices is a sound and video installation created by the young people who access Charlie’s YMCA drop-in centre in Eastbourne, giving them a platform to be heard.

The free exhibition is Rhythmix’s first sound art project and can be seen from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 May, from 10am till 6pm in Towner’s lift, and at various locations around Eastbourne.

The tutors and the team at Rhythmix have been helping those who go to Charlie’s YMCA to create these installations.  Presenting the exhibition at Towner and other locations in Eastbourne is a fantastic way for them to show off their hard work.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are very excited to invite people to the Silent Voices exhibition this weekend and offer something completely different for visitors to Towner. Silent Voices is not only an exhibition, it’s a unique indoor and outdoor experience, where visitors can really interact with the installations.  Towner is pleased to work in partnership with charities and young people from the local area through our award-winning outreach and participation programme.”

This project is a collaboration between young people, artists and musicians from Rhythmix – a leading music charity in the South East of England, which promotes music making for young people and workforce development for the music education sector.

The project is in partnership with Towner and East Sussex Music Service, and supported using public funding by Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts.

This weekend sees the culmination of the Silent Voices project – a three day sound installation, in three different locations.  As well as the exhibition at Towner, you can experience Silent Voices on the beach (between the Bandstand and Pier) from 2 – 7pm, and at Charlie’s YMCA, 56 Seaside from 7pm to 10pm.

Visitors should keep an eye out for surprising interventions at each location and then look and listen to hear the true voices of young Eastbourne in 2012.

For more information on the Silent Voices exhibition and other events coming up at Towner go to www.townereastbourne.org.uk.

Disturbance, showing from 21 April to 24 June 2012, surveys the artist’s distinguished career from the mid 1980s to today – including Doherty’s most recent work AncientGround, shot on the peat bogs of County Donegal.

Entry to the exhibition is free and visitors are able to view the impressive work of the self-confessed “old-fashioned landscape artist”, who is renowned for his video installations and photographs.

Doherty’s work begins with the land, exploring its relationship to memory and the multiple meanings a single image may have. His practice is rooted in the politics and landscape of his native Derry and the closeness of its border with the Republic of Ireland: “a perfect theatre of war”.  However, as Disturbance reveals, his work transcends the specifics of any particular environment to have a universal appeal.

In Doherty’s recent work he tracks down the scars of human activity on the land and captures them on camera.  Through his close examination of the territory he reveals the relationship with social and political concerns.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are delighted to welcome such an inspiring and celebrated artist to Eastbourne. Doherty’s work combines art and politics in a way that makes us look at the world around us differently, and question our own interpretation of images and memory of events. It is this huge impact on the viewer that makes his exhibition so fascinating.”

The repetition of text and imagery in Doherty’s works heightens the emotional intensity and sense of entrapment: who is the protagonist and who is the victim?

This exhibition is presented in association with Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.

Towner is open Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays from 10am till 6pm.

Around 10,000 images will be needed for a huge photo-mosaic of the Queen. The photos can be portaits, family photos, shots of people in front of their favourite South East landmark, people in their garden or on a fairground ride – anything at all as long as it shows local faces. The pictures can be black and white or colour, recent or old. They will be included in a work of art, made in collaboration with the artist Helen Marshall, entitled The People’s Monarch.

The finished work will be approximately 10m x 5m – around the size of a double decker bus, and will be displayed in the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne. It will be unveiled on BBC South East Today on 25th May and the public will be able to view it – for free – until 10th June.

Quentin Smith, Editor of BBC South East Today said: “We hope everyone in the South East is as excited by this project as we are. How often are we given the opportunity to be in a work of art? We are delighted that thousands of our viewers and listeners will get the chance to go and see the artwork displayed in as prestigious a gallery as The Towner.”

Gillian Clarkson from The Towner Gallery said: “It’s really exciting for us. One of the things we are all about at the Towner is participation. Often when you walk into this gallery you’ll see work made by schoolchildren or an exhibition by a community group alongside international exhibitions. But this project, with an artwork that’s made up of and involves thousands of people is going to be the biggest public participation project that we’ve ever worked on.”

It’s easy to submit photos – just visit the BBC website and follow the instructions.

Notes for Editors:

The artwork will be made by photo-mosaic specialists, Brighton-based PollyTiles.  www.pollytiles.co.uk

Artist Helen Marshall has worked, with PollyTiles, on the largest photo-mosaic in the world. She is based
in London and works all over the world. www.helenmarshall.co.uk

East Sussex’s own artists and makers will take central stage at Towner this weekend, as the award-winning contemporary art museum launches the third East Sussex Open – the popular annual exhibition which showcases the wealth of regional artistic talent on our doorstep.

Joining Towner’s Exhibitions Curator Sanna Moore on the 2012 selection panel were Jane Won, Curator at the De La Warr Pavilion, and Matthew Burrows, Sussex-based artist and John Moores Painting Prize winner. An impressive 160 entries were put forward to be judged by the panel, and 33 emerging and established East Sussex artists were selected to be part of the exhibition.

The East Sussex Open will fill Towner’s industrial scale Exhibition Halls, with a floor space of 668 sq m – the largest art display space in the region.

As in previous years, each piece of work in the exhibition is for sale and Towner is very pleased to now offer the opportunity to buy through the Own Art scheme – an interest-free art purchasing scheme that makes buying art easy and affordable for everyone.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Councillor Neil Stanley said “Excitement is building as the East Sussex Open prepares to take over our Exhibition Halls for the third year – we are delighted to be able to once again devote such a huge space to the talents of our local artistic community. The range and quality of artwork in this show is so inspiring and reminds us that you don’t have to look far to experience great art!

“In fact, you may find yourself so inspired that you’d like to own one of the pieces for yourself – and now that Towner is part of the Own Art scheme, we can all be art collectors! Whether you’d like to buy some art or not, this exhibition is an absolute must-see.”

Last year’s East Sussex Open included the largest painting ever exhibited at Towner and this year’s exhibition promises another eclectic selection of visual art in every medium, including large scale sculptures and a video installation showing iconic landmarks along the South coast from a swimmer’s perspective. Don’t miss the toilet sculpture made entirely from chocolate!

The East Sussex Open exhibition is free to members of the public, and runs from 24 March until 29 April.

Eastbourne’s gallery is only South East winner in the Museums at Night competition

Towner has topped the Connect10 poll with 55% of the votes to win artist Bob & Roberta Smith for a special Museums at Night event in May, including the first ever Museums at Nightclub.

Towner is the only museum in the South East to have won an artist in the innovative Connect10 project by Culture 24, which offered the public the chance to vote for their favourite galleries and museums to win a leading contemporary artist to take part in Museums at Night 2012.

Towner received more than double the votes of its competitors, Leeds Art Gallery and Bradford’s Peace Museum, with an amazing 1,115 votes cast for Towner.

Towner’s loyal audience and supporters really got behind the competition, and even Bob & Roberta Smith himself tweeted to his followers about Towner’s event. Smith is the alias of iconic sign-painter, activist and installation artist, Patrick Brill.

Voters and Towner visitors will have the chance to join the artist to Make Art Not War! at Towner’s Museums at Night event on Saturday 19 May, when the whole building will become one giant interactive creative space to make and display art and signs, from the shop window to the industrial scale lift. The event will be followed by the UK’s first ever Museums at Nightclub!

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are absolutely delighted to have won the vote and can’t wait to welcome Bob & Roberta Smith to Eastbourne’s Towner for this unique Museums at Night event! I would like to say a huge thank you on behalf of Towner to everyone that voted and want to invite you all to come along on 19 May and join us for what promises to be a fantastic night!”

Towner’s idea was inspired by Smith’s iconic 1997 piece Make Art Not War, a sentiment that resonates with the Towner Collection – renowned for its modern British art, it houses many works by the conscientious objectors known as the Bloomsbury Group.

Smith’s encouragement to make your own art echoes Towner’s own ethos – with six Towner exhibitions per year displaying artwork made by the thousands of participants in Towner’s learning and outreach programmes, creativity and productivity are at the very heart of the gallery.

Children aged 5 – 7 years old can book now for the morning workshop from 10.30am – 12.30pm, while children aged 8 – 11 years old can book for the afternoon session from 2pm – 4pm.

Then on Sunday 19 February, families are invited to the free VISITOR family day, taking place from 11am – 3pm. Children and adults alike can join artists Jason Hall and Louise Bristow to make fluorescent cabins and canoes, and then add their creations to a magical ultra-violet lit panorama of a frozen landscape and watch them glow!
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “VISITOR is a brilliantly interactive exhibition for Towner and our half-term activities offer a great way for families to really learn about the exhibition and make their own VISITOR-inspired art. We hope to see as many families as possible pop along this weekend and have a go at creating their own lakes, canoes and cabins!”
VISITOR is on now at Towner until 1 April. The exhibition has been created by BAFTA-nominated art duo Gibson / Martelli who work together as igloo, and visitors to the exhibition are promised an immersive experience of the icy wilderness in two new installation works inspired by the snow-driven mountains of the Canadian Rockies.

Visitors can enter Vermilion Lake, a full-scale replica of a trapper’s cabin inside which, a surprising feature awaits them… The intrepid will be able to explore an eerie, frozen virtual world, navigating their way using a combination of physical motion and video game technology.
And an accompanying moving image piece, where the bears are sleeping, complements the cabin with a backdrop of images of glaciers, forests and frozen lakes.

For more information on the exhibition, which is free to visitors, or to book for the workshops on Friday for £4 per child call Towner on 01323 434670 or visit www.townereastbourne.org.uk.

Eastbourne now needs your vote to beat off competition from Leeds and Bradford and win the ultimate prize – the artist himself! – who will come to the town to take part in a unique interactive event for all ages at Towner, followed by the first ever Museums at Nightclub!

Connect10 is an innovative project by Culture 24 that gives the public the chance to send one of ten leading contemporary artists to a gallery or museum of their choice for Museums At Night 2012. Galleries, heritage sites and museums the length and breadth of the UK submitted proposals outlining the event they would run if they won their preferred artist, and the two or three most exciting ideas for each artist were selected to go through to the public vote.

Bob & Roberta Smith is the alias of Patrick Brill, the sign-painter, activist and installation artist who uses text on recycled signs and floorboards. Towner’s event encourages everyone to Make Art Not War! by getting creative with Bob & Roberta Smith. If Towner is successful, on Saturday 19 May the whole building will become one giant interactive creative space where you can make and display your own art and signs, from the shop window to the industrial scale lift! With Smith providing ideas, inspiration and a helping hand, hundreds of people of all ages will fill the building with their own creations.

In the evening, Towner will transform into the first ever Museums at Nightclub. Inviting Smith to link the club night with his Resonance FM radio show, this will be an evening of creativity, entertainment, music and artistic encounters, culminating in the ultimate display of peace and unity – on the dancefloor.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Councillor Neil Stanley said “We were so excited when the shortlist was announced – with all of the galleries and museums across the UK vying for one of these leading artists, it’s fantastic to have got this far – but now we need to make sure we bring this iconic artist to Eastbourne! Towner’s event promises to be truly inclusive – bringing hundreds of people into the gallery and allowing everyone the chance to work alongside a famous artist, and indeed become an artist themselves! – so please head to Culture 24’s website and cast your vote for Towner!”

Towner’s idea was inspired by Smith’s iconic 1997 piece Make Art Not War, a sentiment that resonates with the Towner Collection – renowned for its modern British art, it houses many works by the conscientious objectors known as the Bloomsbury Group.

Smith’s encouragement to make your own art echoes Towner’s own ethos – with six Towner exhibitions per year displaying artwork made by the thousands of participants in Towner’s learning and outreach programmes, creativity and productivity are at the very heart of the gallery.

Notes to Editors:

1. Connect10 voting closes at 5pm on Monday 5 March. Towner is competing against Leeds Art Gallery and The Peace Museum, Bradford.
2. Museums at Night is the annual after-hours celebration of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events. It takes place over the weekend of Friday 18 – Sunday 20 May 2012. www.museumsatnight.org.uk
3. Culture24 is a non-profit cultural publishing organisation supporting arts and heritage venues to reach audiences across digital platforms. They collect and share cultural data, publish websites, run the national Museums at Night campaign and lead action research projects. www.WeAreCulture24.org.uk
4. Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

igloo artists Gibson and Martelli will be at Towner at 2pm on Saturday to speak to visitors about their artistic practice and use of video game technology, as well as their travels in the Canadian Rockies and what it was like to put the ambitious VISITOR exhibition together.

As well as hearing from the artists and experiencing the icy wilderness for themselves in the VISITOR exhibition, visitors to Towner this weekend will also have the chance to enjoy free screenings of Manufactured Landscapes, a feature length documentary that has inspired the igloo artists.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “We were very excited to launch Towner’s latest exhibition VISITOR last weekend and we have a fantastic programme of events, talks and workshops coming up that really encourage visitors to delve deeper into the exhibition. This weekend’s talk and screenings will allow visitors to hear from the igloo artists in person as well as enjoying free screenings of a film that gives an insight into the artists’ inspiration.”

Manufactured Landscapes is a documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky who makes large-scale photographs of ‘manufactured landscapes’ such as quarries, recycling yards, factories and mines. The documentary follows the artist to China as he travels the country documenting its massive industrial revolution. Subjects include the Three Gorges Dam, which is 50% bigger than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million people, and factory floors over a kilometre long.

The film screenings are free for visitors to watch and take place at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 February. To hear the artists talk visitors must book in advance for £4 or £3 for concessions – you can book online by visiting www.townereastbourne.org.uk.

This weekend also offers a great opportunity for first time visitors to experience the VISITOR exhibition, which includes a full size replica of a Canadian trappers’ cabin housing an interactive environment, in which you are invited to navigate through an eerie, frozen virtual world.

For more information go to www.townereastbourne.org.uk or call 01323 434670.

VISITOR has been created by BAFTA-nominated art duo Gibson / Martelli who work together as igloo, and visitors to the exhibition are promised an immersive experience of the icy wilderness in two new installation works which open on Saturday.

Visitors are invited to enter Vermilion Lake, a full-scale replica of a trapper’s cabin inside which a surprising feature awaits them… The intrepid will be able to explore an eerie, frozen virtual world, navigating their way using a combination of physical motion and video game technology.

An accompanying moving image piece, where the bears are sleeping, complements the cabin with a backdrop of images of glaciers, forests and frozen lakes.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are very excited to open VISITOR this weekend and offer something completely different for visitors to Towner. VISITOR is not only an exhibition, it’s a completely unique experience, where visitors can really interact with the installation. With plenty of VISITOR inspired workshops and events coming up at Towner over the next few months too, there will be lots of ways for visitors to make the most of the free exhibition and experience the Canadian Rockies without leaving Eastbourne!”

Vermilion Lake and where the bears are sleeping both evoke feelings of either a friendly or malevolent force – the hunter being hunted or the tracker being tracked.  Video game techniques are used to virtually bring the external environment into Towner’s gallery space.

VISITOR opens at Towner this Saturday, 28 January, and is open until 1 April, with several events planned to encourage visitors to learn more about the exhibition.

The Artists Talk takes place next Saturday, 4 February, when visitors can hear igloo artists Gibson and Martelli talk about their practice, use of video game technology and the VISITOR exhibition.  Six free film screenings over the same weekend will show Manufactured Landscapes, a film that has inspired the artists.  There are also exciting half term events planned for children and families.

The People’s Republic of Towner will open this Saturday and run until 29 January and has been developed over a number of weeks with Towner’s outreach team working closely with the staff and clients of CRI Lift House.

The project has explored how the value of accessible, secure and decent housing aids a sustainable recovery from substance and alcohol addiction. Central to the exhibition is the construction of a life size ‘dwelling’ in Towner’s industrial scale Exhibition Halls, which has been made almost entirely from recycled materials.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are delighted to launch The People’s Republic of Towner, the latest exhibition to have been developed through the valuable outreach work carried out at Towner. For many years Towner has been working at what might be considered the frontline of community development within Eastbourne and beyond, and this latest exhibition continues to look at key social issues in our community.”

Visitors will be able to enter the large scale ‘dwelling’ and explore a parallel world of ultra violet squats and sofa surfing show homes, with the interior consisting of fixtures and fittings mostly recovered from skips, house refurbishments or objects donated by local businesses.

The exhibition will also feature the Black Museum, a museum designed by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service containing items recovered from house fires to highlight the importance of safe and secure housing for children.

All of the participants in The People’s Republic of Towner have at one time or another experienced housing related issues and the project has been developed in consultation with housing and advice agencies across Eastbourne. The exhibition will provide a resource area offering advice and guidance on services provided within the town as well as information on current housing policy.