7 new artworks for Kent, Essex and Sussex

The beautiful and dramatic landscape of England’s Creative Coast has inspired artists for centuries. JMW Turner was captivated by Margate and its ever-changing seas and skies. The Essex and Sussex coast became a radical test-bed for 20th century architects, artists and writers, experimenting with new Modernist ideas. Today, artists continue to be inspired by this coastline and its communities.

Throughout May 2021, we launched seven new artworks by international contemporary artists - Andreas Angelidakis, Mariana Castillo Deball, Holly Hendry, Jasleen Kaur, Katrina Palmer, Pilar Quinteros and Michael Rakowitz – which connected the coastline of Essex, Kent and East Sussex and the world-class arts organisations in these places.

Waterfronts was a new series of artworks, curated by Tamsin Dillon and set in the landscape of Margate, Folkestone, Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Eastbourne, Gravesend and Southend-on-Sea. The artworks take the border between land and water as their inspiration. Each artist responded to the uniqueness of the coastal locations, focusing on issues, stories and questions – social, natural, geological, political - to offer fresh perspectives on each place, for you to contemplate.

Key dates

1 May - 14 November 2021: Michael Rakowitz - 'April is the cruellest month' - for Margate
22 May - 14 November 2021: Jasleen Kaur - ‘The first thing I did was to kiss the ground’ - for Gravesend
22 May - 14 November 2021: Katrina Palmer - 'Hello' - for Southend-on-Sea
29 May - 14 November 2021: Holly Hendry - 'Invertebrate' - for Bexhill
29 May - 14 November 2021: Andreas Angelidakis - 'Seawall' - for Hastings
29 May - end of October 2021: Pilar Quinteros - 'Janus Fortress Folkestone' - for Folkestone
29 May - 14 November 2021: Mariana Castillo Deball - 'Walking through the town' - for Eastbourne