One of the defining traits of the Coastal Culture Trail is its rich visual arts scene. On this page you can find out more about upcoming exhibitions from the trail’s 3 partner galleries, Hastings Contemporary, Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, and the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
Hastings Contemporary
Elias Sime: Eregata እርጋታ 16 March to 8 September 2024
Experience the extraordinary craftsmanship of one of Ethiopia's leading contemporary artists. This spring, multi-disciplinary artist Elias Sime comes to Hastings with his first major solo show in Europe. Elias deftly weaves, layers and assembles carefully selected everyday materials, transforming commonplace items into lyrical abstract compositions.
Immortal Apples, Eternal Eggs, 21 September 2024 to 16 March 2025
Explore the rich and complex genre of still life in this major new exhibition. Immortal Apples, Eternal Eggs is a meeting of two of the UK’s most significant collections – The Ingram Collection and the David and Indrė Roberts Collection – and will include work from artists including Phyllida Barlow, Louise Bourgeois, Sir Anthony Caro, Patrick Caulfield, Michael Craig-Martin, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Sarah Lucas, Henry Moore and Ai Weiwei.
De La Warr Pavilion
ZINEB SEDIRA: CAN'T YOU SEE THE SEA CHANGING? 24 September 2022 - 8 January 2023
‘Can’t You See the Sea Changing?’ will be Zineb Sedira’s first solo exhibition in a UK public gallery for over 12 years and follows her acclaimed exhibition, ‘Dreams Have No Titles’ for the French Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, which received the Special Mention of the Jury.
BABES IN ARMS, 10 September 2022 - 10 November 2022
Babes In Arms is a collective of artist mothers living in Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill, who have come together through a shared experience of the inspiration and the difficulties that are attached to being an artist or creative whilst also trying to raise a child. This exhibition follows a series of workshops led by Babes in Arms artists at the De La Warr Pavilion throughout summer 2022.
Towner Gallery
Drawing the Unspeakable Curated by David Dimbleby & Liza Dimbleby, 5 October 2024 to 27 April 2025
Drawing the Unspeakable explores the universal language of drawing – a medium that renowned broadcaster David Dimbleby and his daughter, the artist and writer Liza Dimbleby, have long recognised as a powerful tool for expressing the inexpressible. For both father and daughter, drawing transcends the limitations of words, offering a means to convey the most complex ideas and emotions. This exhibition highlights their shared belief in the power of art to communicate experiences that words cannot fully capture.
Gerard Byrne: Jielemeguvvie guvvie sjisjnjeli - Film inside an image, 21 September 2024 to 21 April 2025
Gerard Byrne’s Jielemeguvvie guvvie sjisjnjeli - Film inside an image (2015-16) will be presented at Towner for the first time since it was acquired for the Towner Collection through Art Fund’s Moving Image Fund. In this film, Byrne slowly documents the 360-degree panoramic display of the famous natural history diorama at Biologiska Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. The museum opened in 1893 with a display composed of taxidermy and scenic painting that imaginatively transported visitors to the Nordic wilderness.
Ravilious Gallery and Collection Library, Ongoing
The Ravilious Gallery and Collection Library, supported by Eastbourne Arts Circle, is a room in Gallery 1 presenting changing exhibitions of artworks from the Towner Collection. The current display features local landscapes by Eric Ravilious alongside animal sculptures, drawings and prints by artists including Chris Drury, Elisabeth Frink, Roland Jarvis, Henry Moore, John Skeaping and more. Inspired by the museum setting of Gerard Byrne’s film, exhibited next door, this display engages with the elements of a natural history diorama - from the animals and artifacts presented within, to the painted landscapes and qualities of light that complete the illusion.