Towner Eastbourne, the oldest gallery on the south-east coast of England, is turning 100. In addition to its own Towner 100 celebrations, it will host the Turner Prize, one of the world's leading prizes for contemporary art. An exclusive interview with director and CEO Joe Hill was granted to us. The Turner Prize is one of the best-known prizes for visual art in the world and aims to encourage public debate about new developments in contemporary British art. Established in 1984, the prize is awarded to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the previous twelve months. Joe Hill has worked as Director, Curator and Project Coordinator including leading the team at Focal Point Gallery, Essex, and has been Director of Towner Eastbourne since 2018. 

Towner 100

The Turner Prize will conclude Towner Eastbourne's centenary celebrations - Towner 100- in 2023 which also include an exhibition by Barbara Hepworth, and two exhibitions of works from the collection. As well as having a collection of over 5000 works, the Towner collection is also known to have the largest mural in the UK. In 2019, German artist Lothar Goetz was chosen to redesign the building exterior to mark its tenth anniversary of moving from the Old Town to a new building in Eastbourne. The artist transformed the building with his geometric trademark drawings, Dance Diagonal, into a total work of art, now known worldwide and a hallmark of Eastbourne and Sussex. 

If you don't know Eastbourne. It's a beautiful southern English town with Victorian beach hotels, the 19th century Eastbourne Pier and a 1930s bandstand. Along the coast, in the South Downs National Park, are the high chalk cliffs of Beachy Head. 

Also read in this interview with Joe Hill how the political instability and recession is affecting his museum and the wider art world in England.

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ART

Name: Joe Hill

Occupation: Director CEO - Towner Eastbourne

Eastbourne: Positioned at one of the nearest geographic points to the neighbours in Europe.

Position: Sees Towner role as critical in maintaining a cultural conversation internationally post Brexit.

Next: The Turner Prize will close Towners Centenary celebrations in 2023.

You have been Director Towner Eastbourne for five years. What have you been able to achieve since then that you are very proud of?

Since I joined in 2018, we have worked to re-vision the organisation to create an open and inclusive community space which acts as a catalyst for positive change locally, and celebrates this unique place nationally and internationally. Now 100 years old, the gallery continues to look forward and examine what the role of galleries and museums is in shaping and reflecting the next hundred years for our community.

I am most proud of the exterior commission we installed in 2019, which wrapped the entire building in a geometric artwork by German artist Lothar Götz, Dance Diagonal. This completely shifted the relationship the gallery held with the wider community and was shared online internationally millions of times. This change in perception for the organisation and the town resulted in the gallery winning Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2020.

Towner, centenary celebrations in 2023

Now the Turner Prize will be awarded at your museum. Is this in a way a highlight for your museum, what does it mean to you?

The Turner Prize will close our Centenary celebrations in 2023. It is the biggest contemporary art prize in the UK and brings significant attention and audience numbers to see the exhibition. It will be an opportunity to showcase our new approach to a wider audience and celebrate the strong creative community in Eastbourne and the South Coast. Alongside the Turner Prize, we will be delivering an ambitious programme of activity which will animate spaces in the town like the station, shopping centre and seafront.

Can you explain to international readers why the Turner Prize is so significant?

The Turner Prize is an annual contemporary art prize which has, since its conception in 1991, is a prize that has always generated wider public interest. It is covered by the wider media in the UK and does tend to attract a non-arts audience. It is a rare moment in the UK, when contemporary art meets a mainstream media and audience. This is a key moment to build confidence with new audiences around contemporary art and allow the debate about ‘what is art?’ to inhabit the building. 

What makes your museum stand out in the English museum and gallery landscape?

Towner is a gallery that has always prioritised access to great art for all, supported living artists and used the unique landscape context of Eastbourne to explore wider themes of landscape and environmental change on a global front. Now positioned at one of the nearest geographic points to our neighbours in Europe, we see our role as critical in maintaining a cultural conversation internationally post Brexit.

Towner Eastborne with the famous mural by German artist Lothar Goetz ©MarcAtkins

"Open free spaces where we can work together to develop a future vision for our community."

I read a lot about the times of radical change in your country. Can you talk about this? How is the recession affecting your field?

The country has experienced a prolonged period of political instability, which followed a decade of underinvestment across the public sector, including in the arts. This has resulted in a very divided nation, with a clear lack of long-term vision coming from the government. We now find ourselves with serious financial challenges and public arts funding increasingly looking to the private sector and philanthropy to back up an underinvestment by the state. These new funding models are very difficult to make work outside of large urban centres like London and therefore as a regional gallery we are finding it harder and harder to continue the level of ambition that was present at the turn of the millennium.

I fear the recent energy crisis will have a very large impact on our sector and could see a number of galleries and museums being forced to close completely. As a sector, we have developed very strong community programmes and our buildings have become key local resources as other spaces like libraries, youth and community centres continue to be under threat. These are open free spaces where we can work together to develop a future vision for our community.

Are you a visual artist yourself? 



I did go to art school, however I no longer make work myself, but I do hope to return to it at some point.

Towner Art Gallery - Manor House Gardens-Eastbourne, 1931. Donlion Productions postcard. Towner Archive

Towner Eastborne with the famous mural by German artist German artist Lothar Goetz ©MarcAtkins

Towner Art Gallery - Towner Archive