Towner Eastbourne wins prestigious award

Towner Eastbourne has been announced as a winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020, one of the most prestigious museum prizes in the world.
Towner Eastbourne © Marc AtkinsTowner Eastbourne © Marc Atkins
Towner Eastbourne © Marc Atkins

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.

They will equally share the £200,000 award, a 40 per cent rise over previous years.

The winning museums in full are:

Aberdeen Art Gallery (Aberdeen, Scotland);

Gairloch Museum (Gairloch, Scotland);

Science Museum (London);

South London Gallery (London);

Towner Eastbourne (Eastbourne).

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The winners were selected by a judging panel of Jago Cooper (curator of the Americas, The British Museum), Dame Liz Forgan (trustee, Art Fund), Ryan Gander (artist), Melanie Keen (director, The Wellcome Collection) and Jenny Waldman (director, Art Fund). They are awarded based on their achievements in 2019-20.

Joe Hill, director, Towner Eastbourne, said: “We are delighted to be a winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020. It’s been a privilege to lead Towner since 2018 and to work with my 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.

“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 engaging with our brightly coloured exterior commission, our broad exhibition and events programme and the range of outreach programmes that benefit groups across Eastbourne and Sussex.

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“Through 2020, a year which has been notably difficult for everyone globally, we are proud to have continued to deliver a wide-ranging programme for our audiences during these unprecedented circumstances.

“As we look ahead, I am excited to begin planning our centenary programme for 2023, using this award to ensure we develop a moment of celebration for the people of Sussex and a programme for all ages, taking place across our town and not just inside the gallery walls.

“Congratulations to other winners and a heartfelt thank you to the Towner team and all our partners, supporters and visitors for contributing to making Towner Eastbourne a winning gallery.”

David Dimbleby, chairman, Towner Eastbourne, added, "As chairman of Towner Eastbourne, I am thrilled that the gallery has been named Art Fund Museum of the Year  2020.

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“We are proud of what the gallery has achieved in recent years and the many ways in which it serves the people of Eastbourne, from young people exhibiting work with their schools, to those visiting with friends, parents and grandparents to enjoy a wide-ranging programme of events, to art fans coming to Towner from far afield to see world-class exhibitions.

“The prize is an accolade for our director Joe Hill and the great team who work with him. We are celebrating our 10th anniversary in our new building, with an ambitious programme of modern and contemporary art, wide-ranging community outreach and energetic commissioning of new artworks alongside the imaginative use of our Collection.

“I look forward to seeing Towner scale ever greater heights as we head for our centenary year in 2023, I know that this award will help us reach a wider range of audiences and communities – which has always been and remains our overriding ambition.” 

Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, said: "Congratulations to Towner Eastbourne. The five Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020 winners are exceptional examples of museums offering inspiration, reflection and joy in the heart of communities. The UK’s museums - admired worldwide and vital locally - were thriving before Covid-19. Now they can help rebuild our communities and confidence as we emerge from the virus.”