Towner Eastbourne

On the tip of the South East coast near to Beachy Head sits the charming seaside town of Eastbourne, home to the award-winning Towner Eastbourne, with its three floors of galleries showcasing modern and contemporary art, including a wide range of works from Towner’s own Collection. Towner also presents a year round programme of cinema, live performances and special events.

This striking gallery presents major exhibitions of UK and international contemporary art and is also home to a renowned collection of nearly 5,000 works, best known for its modern British art – including the largest and most significant body of work by Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) – and a growing collection of international contemporary art.

In 2019, Towner Eastbourne celebrates 10 years in its current building, the exterior of which has been transformed by German artist Lothar Götz into a large-scale, colourful geometric artwork, Dance Diagonal to celebrate.

Upcoming exhibitions that visitors can look forward to this year include; Eastbourne Arts Circle Sculptural Commission and David Nash: 200 Seasons.

A trip to Towner Eastbourne would not be complete without heading outside and soaking up the art and culture of wider Eastbourne. Browse an assortment of independent art galleries in the Victorian shopping streets of Little Chelsea, enjoy an explosive classical evening at the Bandstand, or soak up outdoor Shakespeare in the Italian Gardens.

Stroll out to the South Downs, close to Towner, to experience the same stunning coastal landscape scenes that Ravilious and many artists have captured.

In 2020...

As part of The Waterfronts series Towner Eastbourne are creating a new artwork with Berlin-based artist Mariana Castillo Deball, whose diverse, kaleidoscopic practice combines visual art with archaeology, science and history to make installations, performances, sculptures and text-based pieces. She focuses on different forms and languages to reveal the role of objects and stories in our histories and identities. For the Waterfronts commission, she will draw on both the ancient and more recent geological and social history of the area.