Entry
Free
Dates
14 Jun–26 Oct 2025
Hours
Tue–Sun, 10am–5pm
and Bank Holidays
Location
Selman Gallery, Irene Willett Gallery, South Gallery & North Gallery
Turner Contemporary
Join us this summer to discover The Sunken Boat: A glimpse into past histories, an exhibition by Anna Boghiguian, which will explore global maritime histories and today’s environmental and geopolitical crises.
Admission to Turner is free. A one-off or regular donation will help support artists to realise exciting new exhibitions and inspire over 300,000 children, young people and adults each year with free access to art and creative activities.
Boghiguian, an Egyptian-Canadian artist of Armenian heritage, creates large-scale installations that combine personal narrative, historical research, and political commentary. Her distinctive visual language—combining painting, drawing, collage, paper-mâché, glass, bronze, and fabric—confronts viewers with questions about colonialism, trade, migration, and ecological devastation. Her figurative work, including large-scale tableaux, is deeply connected to history and storytelling, addressing themes such as the impact of the Industrial Revolution and the climate crisis.
For The Sunken Boat, the artist has developed a site-specific installation responding to Turner Contemporary’s coastal setting. Drawing on stories of a sunken boat that carried enslaved people from West Africa to Liverpool, the installation explores the centrality of the sea in shaping histories of labour, trade, ecological collapse, and political conflict. It combines sculpture, painting, cut-out figures and sound, inviting reflection on rising sea levels and geopolitical tensions around undersea communication cables.
‘The Sunken Boat will offer our audiences a deeply engaging and reflective experience, encouraging dialogue around urgent global issues through the lens of maritime history and contemporary geopolitics.’
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Anna Boghiguian, The Square, The Line, The Ruler. Ambiguous Philosophers / Ambiguous Politicians (detail), 2019.
mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig - Stiftung, seit 2021, On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation, since 2021
Photo © mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien. Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig-Stiftung. On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation since 2021. -
Anna Boghiguian, The Square, The Line, The Ruler. Ambiguous Philosophers / Ambiguous Politicians (detail), 2019.
mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig - Stiftung, seit 2021, On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation, since 2021
Photo © mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien. Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig-Stiftung. On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation since 2021. -
Anna Boghiguian, The Square, The Line, The Ruler. Ambiguous Philosophers / Ambiguous Politicians (detail), 2019.
mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig - Stiftung, seit 2021, On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation, since 2021
Photo © mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien. Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig-Stiftung. On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation since 2021. -
Anna Boghiguian, The Salt Traders, Istanbul, 2015. Installation view, Anna Boghiguian, Galata Greek Primary School, 14th Istanbul Biennial, 2015. Courtesy the artist and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts -
Anna Boghiguian, The Salt Traders, Istanbul, 2015. Installation view, Anna Boghiguian, Galata Greek Primary School, 14th Istanbul Biennial, 2015. Courtesy the artist and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts -
Anna Boghiguian, The Salt Traders, Istanbul, 2015. Installation view, Anna Boghiguian, Galata Greek Primary School, 14th Istanbul Biennial, 2015. Courtesy the artist and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts -
Anna Boghiguian, The Square, The Line, The Ruler. Ambiguous Philosophers / Ambiguous Politicians (detail), 2019.
mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig - Stiftung, seit 2021, On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation, since 2021
Photo © mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien. Leihgabe der Österreichischen Ludwig-Stiftung. On loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation since 2021.
Key earlier works include The Square, the Line and the Ruler: Ambiguous Philosophers / Ambiguous Politicians (2019), a life-size chess set that critiques power structures, and The Salt Traders (2015), an environmental installation that examines the salt trade’s connections to colonialism and climate change through painted sails and a Roman trading ship sculpture emerging from melting ice.
The Sunken Boat promises a rich and multifaceted experience that weaves historical narratives, personal observations, and urgent contemporary concerns, inviting viewers to reconsider the sea’s pivotal role in shaping our collective past and unfolding future.
This exhibition is presented in collaboration with ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum and is curated by Sarah Martin with production by Katherine Lloyd and Joe Drakeford.
About the artist
Anna Boghiguian is an artist whose work has been exhibited internationally, including the Istanbul Biennial (2009), Sharjah Biennial (2011), and dOCUMENTA(13) (2012). She received the Golden Lion at the 2015 Venice Biennale and is known for her installations that explore the intersections of history, politics, and the environment. Born in Cairo to an Armenian family, Boghiguian studied political science and economics at the American University in Cairo before moving to Canada in the 1970s to study art and music. In 2024, she was awarded the prestigious Wolfgang Hahn Prize in Germany.
Accessibility Information
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We'll be offering free monthly BSL tours of all our exhibitions which you can book here.
We also subtitle all our films where possible and offer written transcripts of both films and audio works on display.
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A hearing loop system is in place at our retail and café counters.
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We’re wheelchair accessible, with step-free access and a lift serving both floors. You can enter the gallery via the access ramp to the right of the entrance steps.
You can also borrow a wheelchair or portable stool during your visit, and our staff will be happy to help if you require any additional assistance.
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Large print versions of the exhibition text and magnifying sheets are available. Please ask a member of staff if you would like to use them.
Our staff are trained in delivering audio descriptive tours. If you would like more information about booking an audio described tour please get in touch with us: access@turnercontemporary.org | +44(0)1843 233 000 (operated daily 10am–5pm)
Audio versions of the exhibition text can be found on our free digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app. For more information and to download the app click here. -
Entry to the exhibition is free.
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We're open:
10am–5pm, Tuesday to Sunday
And every bank holiday. -
Turner Contemporary, Rendezvous, Margate, CT9 1HG
Support
The exhibition is made possible with thanks to the generous support of the Henry Moore Foundation, Silvia Fiorucci with La Società delle Api and Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation. Turner Contemporary receives public funding from Arts Council England and Kent County Council.
Exhibition Supporters
Public Supporters
