Russell Tovey to curate an ambitious arts festival across Margate to mark Turner Prize 2019

Posted in – Margate NOWTurner Prize 2019

Margate NOW, an ambitious and dynamic festival of art, events and performances will be held across Margate from 28 September to 13 October 2019 to celebrate the world famous Turner Prize coming to Turner Contemporary for its 2019 edition. Developed by a consortium of partners and artists, the town-wide programme will be bigger than ever before and will place art works in unexpected places. This follows a successful bid to the Arts Council for £219,000 of National Lottery funding as well as further contributions from Kent County Council, Thanet District Council and Dreamland Margate.

As part of an open call, led by Margate Festival, artists were invited to respond to the theme ‘NOW’. 500 artists and performers will produce 60 events and have been selected to be part of the programme guest curated by Russell Tovey. There will be music, dance, exhibitions and installations. The festival runs from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 13 October, with a number of events and exhibitions continuing until the Turner Prize 2019 exhibition leaves Margate on 12 January 2020.

Russell Tovey credit Wonderland magazine, photographer Omar Khaleel

Guest Curator, Russell Tovey says:

“I’ve always had a close relationship with art and began collecting art in my mid 20s whilst acting in The History Boys. Initially, I was excited by the buzz of investing in art and buying something that would outlive me. As my collection has grown my interest has developed into supporting emerging and mid-career artists as well as becoming a patron for a number of not-for-profit public art institutions. Margate NOW is such an exciting programme. Art can be powerful and engaging and I am looking forward to seeing the town brought to life in unusual, surprising and entertaining ways. I’ve really enjoyed helping to curate and select artists for the festival. It’s great to be able to support and encourage the creation of new art and new ideas.”

In addition to the open call programme, there are a number of co-commissions. Turner Contemporary is working with international sound artist and electronic musician, based in London and Margate, Yuri Suzuki to create a new work for the gallery’s South Terrace, in partnership with Kent Libraries. Suzuki will use artificial intelligence to bring together sound and sculpture, inspired by people from across the county. A new work, ‘Printed Whispers’, is also being developed by Yemi Awosile in collaboration with Open School East. Awosile is collaborating with local groups and organisations and will make use of natural resources and reconditioned objects, sourced from the local area.

Further highlights include; theatre company 1927’s fantastical sequence of evening projections, created in collaboration with 500 local primary school children; specially programmed events from Dreamland; as well as a creative installation by Studio TAC at Margate Train Station delivered in partnership with Southeastern. Once the town-wide programme is in place, Turner Contemporary will work with children and a designer to create a child’s view of the town and realise an exciting new map drawn from their perspective. The gallery will train new volunteers under a programme supported with funding from the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust. Volunteers will greet visitors and act as guides to all the events and happenings across the town.

Artists, Collectives and Companies:

Participating Venues:

Victoria Pomery OBE, Director of Turner Contemporary Margate, said:“We are delighted to be leading this dynamic collaboration to ensure that Turner Prize 2019 has maximum impact on the cultural life of the UK. Artists and creativity are at the heart of Turner Contemporary’s work and this autumn offers plenty of opportunities to see and experience the diversity of contemporary practice in the gallery, around Margate and across Kent.”

Dan Chilcott, Margate Festival, said: “It’s been really exciting working with cultural leaders across the town to curate such a wide-ranging group of artists and performers. Russell Tovey’s passion and commitment to exploring contemporary practice in an accessible way through his Talk Art podcast make him an ideal guest curator. The programme is really inspiring and the fact that many of those included in the festival live and work in Margate is a testament to the quality and ambition of the creative community here.”

Eddie Kemsley, CEO of Dreamland Margate, said: “Dreamland is working with local producers to develop a handful of evening events around Margate that will celebrate the music, art and the creativity that runs through the veins of our town. We also have some incredible plans for the festival in the works to be announced soon. This is going to be an amazing year for Margate NOW, we’re thrilled as ever to be part of it.”

Anna Colin, Director and Naami Padi, Deputy Director, Open School East, said: “We are pleased to announce that the Open School East commission has been awarded to alumnus Yemi Awosile, who works across the fields of design and art. We were particularly taken by Awosile’s proposal, which blends generative material and formal research with considered engagement with local groups as well as with societal issues.”

Paul Barritt, Co-Artistic Director, 1927, said: “1927 are delighted to be collaborating with the school children of Margate, creating a series of installations, including Raree Show boxes, interactive animated scenes and outdoor video-mapping – providing community wide enjoyment for their families, friends and neighbours; Margates burgeoning artist community and the many visitors to the Turner Prize.”

Sarah Bedingfield, Service Manager, Kent Libraries, said: “Kent Libraries are excited to be involved in engaging a wide range of people in the creation of this unique artistic experience”.

Cllr Mike Hill OBE, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, Kent County Council, said: “Margate NOW promises to present a rich and diverse body of work across a variety of artforms which will create opportunities for celebration, participation and reflection and provide a spectacular and memorable backdrop to Turner Prize 2019.”

Hedley Swain, Area Director, South East, Arts Council England, said: “We’re delighted that Turner Contemporary will host this year’s Turner Prize. It is a great tribute to everyone at Turner Contemporary and everyone at Kent County Council that has supported their success. Art, culture and creativity have all played a really impressive role in Margate’s rejuvenation over the last few years and so it is fitting that one of the art world’s biggest prizes should now be hosted there. It is particularly important to see so many partners involved and together they will produce something very special that celebrates both the local community and contemporary arts. Arts Council England will work closely with Turner Contemporary and Kent County Council to make the most of this great opportunity.”

Cllr Ash Ashbee, Cabinet Member for Coastal Development, Thanet District Council, said:

“It’s fantastic to see so many artists and exhibitors engaged as part of this festival. Margate NOW is the perfect opportunity to celebrate art, culture and creativity in our original seaside town and marks the start of the count down to hosting the prestigious Turner Prize 2019.”

Notes to editors

Russell Tovey

Today Tovey’s collection is a reflection of his journey with art since the early 2000s. Currently focused on emerging American-based artists employing figurative and geometric abstraction, he has recently acquired works by Jamian Juliano-Villani, Loie Hollowell , Cheyenne Julien, Lisa Brice, Jonas Wood, Jennifer Packer, Shio Kusaka and Walter Price. The collection also includes works by many Royal Academicians including Margate local Tracey Emin, Michael Craig Martin, Rose Wylie and Wolfgang Tillmans.

About Margate NOW

Margate NOW runs from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 13 October, with a small number of events and exhibitions continuing until 12 January 2020.

Margate NOW has been developed in collaboration with partners. This includes; Turner Contemporary, Margate Festival, Open School East, Resort, 1927, Crate and Limbo Studios, Dreamland Margate, Kent County Council and Kent Libraries, Thanet District Council, Southeastern and local artists. The programme is funded by Arts Council England through National Lottery funding, as well as contributions from Kent County Council, Thanet District Council and Dreamland, Margate and the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust.

Please note that all public events are subject to relevant permissions and licenses.

About Turner Prize 2019

Sat 28 Sep 2019 – Sun 12 Jan 2020, Entry is Free

One of the best known prizes for visual arts in the world, Turner Prize 2019 is coming to Turner Contemporary. Every other year, the prize leaves Tate Britain and is presented at a venue outside London.

Four of the most exciting artists working right now are shortlisted to win the prize based on an outstanding exhibition that has taken place in the previous year.

The prize is renowned for triggering debates around new developments in contemporary British art. The work of the four artists will feature in the exhibition at Turner Contemporary and the winner will be announced at a major awards ceremony in December 2019.

The Turner Prize is named after J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) who was an innovative and controversial artist in his day, is now seen as one of the greatest British artists, and expressed a wish to establish a prize for young artists. Turner Contemporary is named after the artist for similar reasons; our work is inspired by Turner’s innovative and radical approach to art.

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.

Since opening in 2011, Turner Contemporary has:

Generated over £70 million for the local economy
Led to the opening of over 150 new businesses
Safeguarded 155 jobs
Attracted over 3.2 million visits

Turner Contemporary

In copy please refer to Turner Contemporary and not ‘The Turner Contemporary’ or ‘The Turner’
Summer opening times: Open every day in July and August, 10am – 6pm.
Turner Prize 2019 opening times: Open every day, Mon – Fri, 11am-6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm. Admission to the gallery is free.
Address: Turner Contemporary, Rendezvous, Margate, CT9 1HG
Information: + 44 (0) 1843 233000, turnercontemporary.org
Turner Contemporary is a charity, receiving public funding from Kent County Council and Arts Council England.

Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual 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 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk