Turner Contemporary has appointed five new trustees – including a board member of Thanet’s Power of Women (OW!) festival.
Turner Contemporary says the new appointments form part of the gallery’s commitment to championing creativity and strengthening communities in Margate and Kent.
This year marks Turner Contemporary’s 10th anniversary. Since it opened, Turner Contemporary has been credited with bringing social and economic benefits to Margate
The appointments are part of the gallery’s drive to reflect the diverse community it serves. The newly appointed trustees have a connection with Kent and bring expertise from the fields of education, law, media, the arts and creative industries as well as on issues of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The new trustees are:
Lucy Edematie
Lucy is a freelance writer and former editor of the Margate Mercury. She works on commissions and projects with artists and arts organisations in Thanet and further afield.
Before relocating to Margate in 2017, Lucy worked as a teacher and leader in London-based secondary schools, where she witnessed first-hand the potential of the arts to empower and transform lives. She has also lived, studied and taught in Northern Italy.
Drawn to causes that seek to address inequality and benefit communities, Lucy has served as a trustee at Age UK Thanet and is currently Co-Chair of the Trustee Board at POW!
Sir Stephen Deuchar
Stephen has a wide background in museums, galleries and the history of British art. After completing a PhD he became a curator at Royal Museums Greenwich and in 1998 was appointed as founding director of Tate Britain, overseeing the establishment and first decade of the gallery’s revised role as a centre for historic and contemporary British art. He organised the Turner Prize and chaired its jury in 2008 and 2009. From 2010-20 he was director of Art Fund, the national charity for art, where he re-cast its national role and impact through the introduction of the National Art Pass and a significant increase in fundraising and grant-giving.
He is also a trustee of the international cultural agency the British Council, and a trustee of Creative Folkestone. He lives in Westwell.
Peter Hawkes
Peter has lived and worked in Kent throughout a long career in the law. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1981 with Furley Page LLP, a Kent-based regional law firm. Peter was appointed Senior Partner of the firm in 2001 and continued in that role until his retirement in April 2021.
Peter’s professional practice focused around dispute resolution, and he is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Peter advised a wide range of commercial clients in both the private and public sector, including not-for-profit organisations.
Peter has had a long-standing involvement in supporting the Arts, and has encouraged business engagement in this sector amongst his many contacts and clients.
Yasmin Khan
Yasmin is a senior BBC journalist and Project Lead for the BBC’s 50:50 Equality Project. During her career she has worked on regional, national and international news programmes and held leadership roles at the BBC Academy’s Creativity Programme and BBC Global Women in News. Yasmin lives in Kent with her family and grew up on the Sussex coast. She supports several change-making initiatives in the South East in an advisory capacity and believes passionately that art, culture and creative spaces should be accessible for all.
Keith Valentine
Keith has a lifelong passion for the visual arts. With roots in the east end of London and a home in Broadstairs, he joins Turner Contemporary with a strong sense of the relationship between art and social progress. Keith has the Freedom of the City of London, and is a Director of the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Registered blind, Keith is supported by Guide Dog Dotty.
Clive Stevens, Chair of Turner Contemporary said: “Since Turner Contemporary opened in 2011, we have achieved so much more than we anticipated. As we look towards the next 10 years ensuring that our governance works to support the gallery’s ambitions against an increasingly challenging context is critical.
“I am delighted to welcome five new trustees, who will work with our existing board, to develop the gallery’s work. All of the new trustees have links to Kent, and bring impressive expertise, with a passion for supporting transformation through art in Margate and more widely.”
Victoria Pomery, Director of Turner Contemporary, added: “It was fantastic to have so many applications from many talented candidates to join the Board of Trustees. Our new appointments will join an already deeply committed and passionate Board of Trustees who play a crucial role in ensuring the ongoing success of the gallery.”
Turner Contemporary’s Board, chaired by Clive Stevens, meets quarterly, and there are a series of active committees and subcommittees.
In 2020, the Board undertook a recruitment process to appoint new trustees. Following an open process, almost 80 applications were received, and 23 individuals were interviewed. The five new trustees will take up their appointment from April 2021.
Turner Contemporary is registered as a charity, receiving public funding from Kent County Council and Arts Council England.
