We champion creativity, celebrate culture, and inspire our community.
Since 2011 we’ve hosted over 72 exhibitions and welcomed more than 387 international artists to our home in Margate.
All for free.
Who we are
Free for all
Art should be for everybody, so all our exhibitions are free to visit. We also offer free family and public workshops, activities, and events throughout the year alongside our paid offering, which helps fund our work in the community. Building a sense of belonging by bringing art, people, and place together.
A charity
We rely on public funding and visitor donations to keep our doors open, our programmes running and our exhibitions ambitious. When you spend money in our shop or cafe, you’re supporting our mission to connect more people with great art and ideas.
‘I never imagined
that my family and grandchildren would have the opportunity to walk into a local gallery to view world-class art.’
What we do
A changing programme of exhibitions
We don’t have a permanent collection, instead we host an ongoing programme of exhibitions and events throughout the year. Each one aims to showcase a culturally important artist/s or ideas.
Learning programmes to benefit our community
Our learning programme has been designed to help more people explore art and our exhibitions in different ways. Building self-esteem, introducing new skills and bringing people together.
Partnering with local organisations
We work with local organisations in order to raise awareness of important causes and celebrate change for everybody. So far we've collaborated with People Dem Collective, Arts Education Exchange, RNLI, Windmill Community Gardens, Rise Up Clean Up and Beyond the Page on projects and initiatives across Kent. We also work closely with Southeastern Rail as part of their Community Rail Partnership.
‘How can we connect people and place through art? That really is at the heart of what we are really about.’
JMW Turner's legacy
The gallery is inspired by JMW Turner's life and work. Margate's skies and light greatly influenced his art, and he believed in the power of creativity as an agent for change.
Even though we don't have a permanent collection of Turner's work - his oil sketch Waves Breaking on a Lee Shore at Margate (Study for ‘Rockets and Blue Lights’) is currently on view in the first floor galleries - we do draw connections between his art and contemporary artists, recognising his influence and legacy.
Our history
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1700
Our story starts in the 1700’s when a small fishing village became popular with Regency-era visitors from London.
Artists and writers flocked to the area, including JMW Turner who claimed the skies over Thanet were the loveliest in Europe.
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1827
Having first visited as a child, JMW Turner often returned to Margate and stayed with Sophia Booth at the Ship Inn. The guesthouse stood on the site the gallery now occupies. After her husband died in 1833 the pair lived together as Mr and Mrs Booth until Turner’s death in 1851. Sophia Booth was buried in St George’s churchyard in Margate, today the Shell Lady by Ann Carrington sits on the harbour arm in her honour.
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1995
John Croft, head of the Margate Civic Society first proposed the idea of celebrating JMW Turner’s connection to the town. Plans were drawn up and in 2000 Kent County Council committed to the project.
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2001
Victoria Pomery came on board as director in 2001 and along with a small team began to programme and run creative workshops, events, talks and workshops across Thanet, to build a local audience for the gallery.
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2006
After a few setbacks Architect Sir David Chipperfield won the bid to create the Turner we know today. The building itself was designed with input from residents, like the pitched roof.
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2011
At 10am on 16 April the Turner was officially opened by Tracey Emin and Jools Holland. To celebrate, a programme of events took place around the gallery called ‘You Are Here’.
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2019
The Turner Prize came to Margate. Artists Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani all exhibited work about social justice and struggles around the world. On 3 December Edward Enniful OBE announced the four had formed a collective, and so for the first time in its history, they would share the prize.
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2020
Then Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, came to the gallery to unveil the design of the new £20 note featuring the JMW Turner. A large see-through window with blue and gold foil on the front depicts the gallery and the Margate lighthouse, among other elements associated with the artist.
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2022
We welcomed Clarrie Wallis as our new Director. “I plan to direct an ambitious, collaborative programme for a truly broad audience,” she said, “developing relationships within the community of Margate and further afield.”
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2025
To date we have welcomed almost 4.5million visitors to the gallery, putting over £80million back into the local economy.
Our building
The building embodies Chipperfield's distinctive minimalist architectural style, with its striking white geometric forms designed to withstand the coastal conditions while complementing the seaside setting.
Modern design with a coastal heart
To fit in with its dramatic location overlooking the main sands, the building sits on a raised plinth, facing out to sea. Made up of six identical two-story crystalline volumes with mono-pitched roofs angled towards the north.
The first floor galleries are naturally lit, changing with the seasons and time of day. Using windows and skylights to spread light around the spaces, leaving no shadows. The large galleries are easy to adapt depending on the needs of each exhibition, with purpose build learning and office spaces at either end.
Outside, an acid-etched glass rain screen captures and reflects the surrounding light conditions, giving the building an almost luminous appearance that’s strong enough to withstand the wind and waves.
Support us
Help support artists in realising exciting new exhibitions and inspire over 300,000 people each year with free access to art and creative activities.
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Our policies
Turner Contemporary is a registered charity, regulated by the Charities Commission. We depend on donations to present exceptional exhibitions, events, and experiences that inspire and enrich the lives of a broad and diverse audience. Find out more about our Policies that inform what we do.
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Our team
Meet the dedicated team of staff and trustees whose passion and expertise drive our mission to inspire and engage through art.
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