VISITKENT
Visit THE FOLKESTONE ARTWORKS THIS SUMMER!
SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE AND FOLKESTONE IS ALREADY BEGINNING TO SHINE! THERE’ S LOTS TO SEE AND DO IN THIS UNIQUE SEASIDE TOWN THAT IS OVERFLOWING WITH CREATIVE FLAIR, INCLUDING EXPLORING THE ICONIC FOLKESTONE ARTWORKS COLLECTION.
Folkestone’ s collection of 27 contemporary artworks are on permanent display, 24 hours a day, 365 day a year. Located throughout the town, the collection offers visitors a unique experience with artworks popping up in both scenic and surprising locations.
The collection aims to deliver an experience of contemporary art beyond the gallery, to encourage different ways of seeing, learning and thinking about contemporary art, free of charge.
Folkestone Artworks includes work by artists as celebrated as Turner Prize nominee Tracey Emin, whose seven-part sculpture Baby Things is a tender, subtle yet poignant response to her perception of the prevalence of teenage pregnancies in the town. 2007 Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger’ s Folk Stones has a profound underpinning, 19,240 numbered stones, the exact number of soldiers killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and can be found close to the Leas Cliff Hall.
Visiting the Folkestone Artworks is the perfect way to exercise your canine friend! Especially with Pae White’ s Barking Rocks; a play park specifically designed for dogs situated just off The Leas in Pleydell Gardens.
Internationally acclaimed Kentbased artist Hamish Fulton has created a metal sign in the Harbour area, mapping the 31 water-related walks he has made from coast to coast, river to river, coast to river, across the British Isles and Western Europe over his 40-year career.
Since the 2014 Folkestone Triennial Lookout, nine artworks have been added to Folkestone Artworks. This includes the iconic coastal sculpture Beach Hut in the Style of Nicholas
Hawksmoore by artist Pablo Bronstein, which adds an unexpected morsel of English Baroque architecture to the Folkestone beachfront.
Situated on the highest point of the historical building The Grand is artist and activist Yoko Ono’ s Morse code light. This beacon signals Earth Peace to ships passing through the channel and communicates peace towards France.
Grab your bucket and spade and wait for low tide to visit Michael Sailstorfer’ s Folkestone Dig! With only 8 of the 30 reportedly buried gold pieces found, Folkestone Harbour still remains as a site to dig for gold!
The collection recognises the need to engage with local people as well as national and international visitors and so provides numerous opportunities for the public to actively participate. As the town has no gallery or museum, Folkestone represents a“ gallery without walls”, aiming to bring art of the highest calibre to the widest group of people.
For more information and to download a map go to www. folkestoneartworks. co. uk
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