Being Human and Years and Years actor Russell Tovey will curate an arts festival across Margate to mark Turner Prize 2019.
Margate NOW, an ambitious and dynamic festival of art, events and performances will be held across Margate from September 28 to October 13 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’. Five hundred artists and performers will produce 60 events and have been selected to be part of the programme guest curated by Russell Tovey.
The selection was made by an isle advisory group, made up of representatives of local studios, who met in April to choose the works from the open call..
There will be music, dance, exhibitions and installations. A number of events and exhibitions will continue until the Turner Prize 2019 exhibition leaves Margate on January 12, 2020.
Russell Tovey said:“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.”
Margate Now
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.
Turner Prize 2019
On show September 28 -January 12. 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 artists are Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani.