The Turner Contemporary Open

23 Oct 2021-20 Feb 2022

Overview

The Turner Contemporary Open is an open submission exhibition that marks our 10th anniversary.

Over 10 years on from Turner Contemporary’s first Open, and in celebration of the gallery’s 10th anniversary, Turner Contemporary is pleased to present The Turner Contemporary Open.

This ambitious exhibition will celebrate and showcase the wealth of artistic talent in Kent and Medway. It will include works by both professional and non-professional artists living and working in the area and those working nationally and internationally who studied there.

Opening on 23 October 2021 and spanning Turner Contemporary’s first floor galleries, the exhibition will include approximately 450 works, selected from over 4,200 anonymised submissions received from nearly 1,400 artists.

Artworks span sculpture, painting, ceramics, film and photography, including work by internationally renowned artists such as Tracey Emin, Rose Wylie and Margo Selby, alongside up-and-coming artists such as Matilda Sutton, Joshua Atkins and Lisa Wright.

The works have been selected by four Thanet-based community groups and collectives: Age UK Thanet, Canvas 4 Equality, Margate Pride and the Turner Contemporary Access Group. These groups have volunteered their time as curators with the support of Turner Contemporary. Each group has taken over a gallery space, in which they have curated their selection of artworks.

Since opening in April 2011, Turner Contemporary has established itself as a locally embedded, nationally significant art gallery connecting art, people and place. As well as drawing national and international artists to work, collaborate and exhibit in the town, a key part of the gallery’s mission is to champion creativity in Margate and Kent. The Turner Contemporary Open demonstrates this commitment and continues the gallery’s pioneering work in community curation.