Exterior of Eastbourne's Towner art gallery to be transformed with £5,000 artwork

The Brewers Towner Commission is part of a year-long programme celebrating 10 years in the Towner building, which was designed by Rick Mather Architcts and opened in 2009 after the gallery moved from its original home in Eastbourne’s Old Town.

The Brewers Towner Commission is a painted commission which will ‘encompass all rendered facades of the award-winning building’ – according to a Towner spokesperson.

The spokesperson added, “This exciting public artwork will be made possible with the support of Brewers Decorator Centres, with the company aiming to spark conversation and support artistic practice in Eastbourne, where the company is based, and beyond.”

Artists and designers are being encouraged to develop proposals that celebrate the spirit of the Towner and its location.

Founded in 1923 as an art gallery for the people of Eastbourne, the Towner has been collecting and exhibiting contemporary art for the last hundred years.

Today, the gallery welcomes 150,000 visitors a year and presents exhibitions of national and international importance to audiences across the UK and beyond.

The Towner’s programme showcases modern and contemporary art alongside displays from the internationally renowned Towner Collection.

The design for the commission will be chosen by a selection panel including Joe Hill, Director of Towner Art Gallery, Mark Brewer, Chairman of Brewers, David Dimbleby, Chairman of Towner Art Gallery and Kiera Blakey, Curator at Art on the Underground. Submissions can be made until the deadline of 30 December 2018 at towner.gallery/OpenCall

The successful artist, designer or collective will be announced in February 2019.

They will be awarded a fee of £5,000 and their proposal will be realised by a team of experienced scenic artists during the spring of 2019, with an official launch of the public artwork taking place in May 2019.