Turner Contemporary

Turner Contemporary

Turner Contemporary exterior
Location within Kent
Established	16 April 2011
Location	Margate, Kent, England
Coordinates	51°23′20″N 1°22′48″E / 51.389°N 1.380°E / 51.389; 1.380
Type	Art gallery
Collection size	British and international art from 1750 to the present
Director	Victoria Pomery
Website	Official website

Turner Contemporary is one of the UK’s leading art galleries. It is situated on Margate seafront, on the same site as the boarding house where J. M. W. Turner stayed when visiting the town. Turner Contemporary presents a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions, events and learning opportunities.

The organisation was founded in 2001 to contextualise, celebrate, and build on Turner’s association with Margate. In 2011, Turner Contemporary gallery, designed by Sir David Chipperfield, opened, and has fast become a visitor attraction of national and international importance.

Turner Contemporary is a catalyst for the regeneration of Margate and East Kent, already welcoming over 1.8 million visits. The vision of the organisation is Art Inspiring Change, using collaboration, learning, ambition and transformation to give everyone to access to world-class art.

In 2012, Turner Contemporary became a part of the Plus Tate network of visual arts organisations across the UK.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Turner Contemporary on 11 November 2011, as part of a wider trip to Margate. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge visited Turner Contemporary on 11 March 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron also visited the gallery on 4 July 2013.

Creating a space to celebrate Turner’s association with Margate was the idea of local resident and former Chairman of the Margate Civic Society, John Crofts. He, along with a number of active members of the community, created the idea of building a centre which would "explore Turner’s connection with Margate”, as well as offer a contemporary art programme.

In 1998, the leader of Kent County Council and representatives of Kent Artists met to discuss the idea. At the same time, plans were being developed to create a cultural quarter in Margate’s Old Town as part of a wider East Kent Cultural Strategy. This led to the idea of a Turner gallery that would stimulate Margate’s culture-led regeneration. In the late 1990s, Kent County Council offered to fund and support the building of a new landmark gallery (later joined by Arts Council England and the South East England Development Agency).