Tuesday, 25 September 2007
23 International Artists’ Projects selected for Major UK Exhibition
Internationally acclaimed contemporary artists including Christian Boltanski, Tracey Emin, Mark Dion, Jeremy Deller, Tacita Dean and Mark Wallinger are being commissioned to create new works for the first Folkestone Triennial, Tales of Time and Space, which will run from 14 June – 14 September 2008.
One of the most ambitious public art projects to be presented in the UK, the Triennial is a three-yearly exhibition of works which will be specially created for public spaces throughout Folkestone.
The selected artists have been invited to engage with Folkestone’s history, culture and built environment to create a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition. The East Kent coastal town of Folkestone has long been a creative centre. Historically it has attracted figures as diverse as Charles Dickens, Derek Jarman, Jimi Hendrix, Marcel Duchamp and a host of 20th century literary figures from H G Wells to George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.
The inaugural Folkestone Triennial will include both temporary works, which will remain in situ for the three months of the exhibition, and a number of permanent works. This pattern will be repeated in subsequent Triennials so that, over time, Folkestone will become a true creative centre for contemporary art of the highest calibre. The Triennial is conceived and led by curator Andrea Schlieker, co-curator of the British Art Show 2005/06, and aims to examine changing notions of art in the public realm.
The selected artists are David Batchelor, Christian Boltanski, Adam Chodzko, Nathan Coley, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Mark Dion, Tracey Emin, Ayse Erkmen, Jeppe Hein,
Sejla Kameric, Robert Kusmirowski, Langlands & Bell, Kaffe Matthews, Ivan & Heather Morison, Nils Norman with Gavin Wade mit Simon & Tom Bloor, Susan Philipsz,
Public Works, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Mark Wallinger, Richard Wentworth, Pae White and Richard Wilson.
The Folkestone Triennial forms a major component of the creativity and arts-led regeneration of Folkestone which is being driven by The Creative Foundation, chaired by leading UK philanthropist Roger De Haan, former chairman of Saga. Other elements of the regeneration programme include a Foster + Partners Masterplan for the redevelopment of the harbour and seafront, a new £38m City Academy specialising in the arts, a new University campus with a strong focus on arts courses, a new performing arts centre, and a Creative Quarter with over 100 artists already established in a growing number of refurbished studio, living and retail spaces. A new high-speed rail link from London will open in 2009.
Curator Andrea Schlieker said:
"It's a tribute to Folkestone's truly inspirational character that our roster of acclaimed artists from LA to Lodz have all responded with extraordinary enthusiasm and artistic insight to creating works for this seaside town. Our aim is to bring art of the highest quality to the widest audience, and to put Folkestone on the cultural map in the same way that Münster receives world-wide recognition for its Skulptur Projekte. We are especially excited about the legacy element of the Triennial which will maintain the focus on Folkestone as a place committed to contemporary art beyond the timeframe of this inaugural exhibition."
Felicity Harvest, Arts Council England, South East Executive Director said:
"The Arts Council is delighted to be supporting the Folkestone Triennial through a £200,000 Grants for the Arts Award - one of our largest ever - and through our other investments in Folkestone with the Creative Foundation and Metropole Arts Centre. We believe the Triennial will be an exciting addition to Folkestone's cultural landscape, attracting international artists and tourists, and boosting the town's economy. The artistic future for Folkestone looks bright."
The Creative Foundation
The Creative Foundation was launched in 2002. The Chairman is Roger De Haan, a life-long resident of the area and former Chairman of Folkestone’s largest private sector employer, Saga.
Folkestone’s Metropole Arts Centre Trust, which had been established in the 1960s under the patronage of Lord Clark and Sir Gerald Glover, had once been an important gallery, but by the mid 1990s it was failing. De Haan stepped in as Chairman and appointed a new board of trustees and a new director, Nick Ewbank. They have worked to bring together influential local figures and to develop a radical new vision for Folkestone. This proposal goes further than many previous models of arts-led regeneration in placing the arts squarely at the heart of every aspect of the regeneration process. The Creative Foundation's strategy is to draw together arts activity, economic growth, educational transformation and significant enhancements to the built environment and thereby deliver dramatic increases in the quality of life for local people.
Already 200,000 square feet of property are under the control of The Creative Foundation, spread across more than 70 individual buildings. Many of these have already been refurbished and scores of creative individuals have been attracted to the area. A new university centre has been founded and many other initiatives are in the pipeline.