Turner Contemporary and University for the Creative Arts Appointed as Cultural Partners in Kings Hill

Liberty Property Trust and Kent County Council (KCC) are pleased to announce a new cultural partnership with Turner Contemporary, a leading gallery based in Margate, and the top creative specialist university in the United Kingdom, the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), for the Kings Hill garden village.

Over the coming year, Turner Contemporary and UCA will work together to connect art and education to involve and inspire creative futures for young residents. Further announcements will include an artist-in-residence appointment and related community engagement, as well as more information about the artist’s commission.

Their dual presence in the village will connect with communities to build invigorating, lasting connections between Kings Hill and its surrounding Kent-wide cultural ecosystem. Through the process of joint-commissioning and exhibition, Kings Hill will benefit from an immediate artist residency and long-term engagement, culminating in a public artwork and strong allegiance between Turner Contemporary and UCA.

As part of the growing community’s Public Art Strategy, Liberty & KCC worked with global placemaking and public art commissioning agency Futurecity Ltd. to develop a sustainable approach. Liberty & KCC are supporting the county’s cultural infrastructure by choosing Turner Contemporary and UCA to work in partnership to deliver a public art commission for the new Kings Hill park, along with an exhibition.

‘The collaboration between Liberty Property Trust, KCC, Turner Contemporary and UCA will generate not just a singular artwork or cultural project, it will also bring more exposure to creative institutions to the Kings Hill neighbourhood community, inspiring future opportunities through arts and learning.’ —Sherry Dobbin, Partner, Managing & Cultural Director, FUTURECITY LTD.

Futurecity Ltd has worked with Liberty Property Trust in Kings Hill and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus since 2014 with a series of artist commissions, partnerships and residencies.

‘We are thrilled to be welcoming two of Kent’s cultural powerhouses to Kings Hill to instil innovation, collaboration and imagination across the public realm and in the community’s shared spaces. We are confident this partnership will build a lasting cultural legacy for the Kings Hill community.’ Andrew Blevins, UK Managing Director, LIBERTY PROPERTY TRUST.

‘We view this partnership to deliver a public art commission as an important way in which to strategically connect Kings Hill and its Control Tower Gallery to cultural endeavours throughout Kent and at Turner Contemporary in Margate.’— Michael Hill, OBE, Cabinet Member for Community Services, KENT COUNTY COUNCIL

‘Turner Contemporary has a track record of transforming lives and driving change through the arts. We are thrilled to be working with partners to provide opportunities for artists at this critical time. We look forward to working with the Kings Hill community who are a vital part of this partnership.’ — Victoria Pomery, Director, TURNER CONTEMPORARY

‘UCA is absolutely delighted to be partnering with Turner Contemporary, Liberty and Kent on this ground-breaking project. Engaging our students in live projects is at the heart of what we do and this project provides a unique opportunity for our students to expand their talents, insights and imaginations outside the walls of the university’s campuses and into the public spaces in Kings Hill’— Terry Perk, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic), UCA

PLEASE NOTE: Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd is a Prologis company.

About Prologis

Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. As of December 31, 2019, and inclusive of the IPT acquisition on January 8, 2020, and the LPT acquisition on February 4, 2020, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 964 million square feet (90 million square meters) in 19 countries. Prologis leases modern logistics facilities to a diverse base of approximately 5,500 customers principally across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfilment.

About Liberty Property Trust UK and Kent County Council

Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd is developing Kings Hill – www.kings-hill.com – as a rapidly growing sustainable community in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), ensuring economic, environmental and social progress for this and future generations. Kings Hill combines commercial, residential, educational, retail, community, sports and leisure uses within 800 acres of highly landscaped low-density parkland and aims to promote quality of life by providing a unique environment in which people can live, work, play and study. In addition to providing accommodation for SME’s, Kings Hill also attracts significant international tenants such as Barclays, Rolex, Cabot Financial, Marsh, Arthur J Gallagher and Kimberly-Clark.

Liberty Property Trust UK and Kent County Council formed a collaborative public/private sector “partnership” to develop Kings Hill as an exemplar mixed-use community.  Kings Hill is the County’s flagship development for attracting inward investment and promoting regional economic growth.

About Turner Contemporary

Turner Contemporary in Margate is one of the most distinctive galleries in the UK; its impact stretches beyond culture-led regeneration and the showcasing of world-class exhibitions, to pioneering change by making the arts more vital and connected to daily life. Turner Contemporary is a charity, receiving public funding from Kent County Council and Arts Council England. In copy please refer to Turner Contemporary and not ‘The Turner Contemporary’ or ‘The Turner.’

About the University for the Creative Arts (UCA)

UCA is the highest-ranked creative specialist university in the UK (Complete University Guide 2021 and the Guardian League Table 2021), offering students a multitude of courses in the creative arts, business and technology.

The University has been providing students with an unparalleled creative education for over 160 years, at campuses in Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Rochester, Hampton Court and Maidstone as well as by distance learning. Our exceptional team of world-class teaching and research academics are equipping the next generation of creators, innovators and leaders with the skills they need to thrive in the creative industries.

About Futurecity Ltd.

Futurecity Ltd. is a cultural placemaking agency that creates cultural strategies, brokers cultural partnerships and delivers major arts projects for clients across the public and private sectors. Founded by Mark Davy in 2007, Futurecity has produced over 125 cultural strategies, brokered over 20 cultural partnerships, and worked on over 100 artist commissions for clients across four continents. In 2017, Sherry Dobbin joined as Partner, bringing her expertise across new cultural development models, public-private partnerships, and international programming experience. In 2014, Futurecity delivered a comprehensive wayfinding strategy by Futurecreative and Millimetre outside Kings Hill’s Control Tower Gallery and Cultural Centre that resulted in embedded artworks that explored the rich history of West Malling with help from the local community.