Eastbourne’s pride at winning world class museum prize

As reported in last week’s paper, we are delighted to share wonderful news that Towner Eastbourne is a winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020, the most prestigious museum prize in the world.

In a unique edition of the prize, and in recognition of the unprecedented challenges that all museums face this year, five winning museums have been named, based on their achievements in 2019-20.

Our fellow winners are Aberdeen Art Gallery (Scotland), Gairloch Museum (Scotland), Science Museum (England) and South London Gallery (England) and I’d like to congratulate them all.

I’d also like to thank everyone in Eastbourne and invite our community to celebrate this achievement with us. Without your help, we could not be winners.

It’s been a privilege to lead Towner since 2018 and to work with wonderful colleagues and our partners to develop Towner into the institution we are now, a community hub for art and culture at the heart of our town with an ambitious world-class programme.

In 2019, as we marked our tenth anniversary in our current building, we had a chance to celebrate and reflect on the impact that the arts can have on a place.

It’s been a pleasure to see so many people enjoying our brightly coloured exterior commission by Lothar Gotz, our broad exhibition and events programme and creative activities that benefit groups across Eastbourne Sussex.

Throughout 2020, a year of unprecedented circumstances, we are proud to have continued delivering programme, including the exciting autumn exhibitions which have just opened.

As we look ahead, I am excited to begin planning our centenary anniversary for 2023, using this award to ensure we develop a moment of celebration for the people of Eastbourne and Sussex with a programme for everyone, that will take place across our town and not just inside the gallery walls.

Everyone in Eastbourne has played a vital role in making Towner Eastbourne a winning gallery.

We couldn’t have done it without you. Whether you come to our cinema, bring your family to one of our workshops, have your lunch in our cafe or visit us to see our exhibitions... together, you make our gallery and our community what it is.

We hope you’ll keep an eye on our website and social media for updates on how you can get involved and help us to celebrate, and we very much look forward to seeing you in person at Towner soon.