Press Releases week beginning 16 December 2019

Call for Entries: Hastings Open 2020

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is seeking visual artists and makers to enter our new open call exhibition: Hastings Open 2020

Hastings Open 2020 is for UK and international visual artists working in the following artistic mediums: painting, sculpture, drawing, print, photography, digital, audio, mixed media, and video. This new opportunity is part of our programme to open up Hastings Museum & Art Gallery and our collections to contemporary artists as both a resource for supporting their careers and as a source of inspiration. To enter, artists are invited to upload images of their work to our online portal for a first round of judging by the selection panel. The entrants who are successful in this round will then be invited to bring their work to the Museum for the second round of judging for the final exhibition selection.

Entry starts at £5 for one artwork and then £20 for a maximum of five. Artists can enter at by following the link on http://www.hmag.org.uk/events/open between now and midnight on 23 February 2020. Full terms and conditions can be found our website. Hastings Open exhibition will run from 2 May to 5 July 2020.

Kim Forward, lead councillor for culture said,

"Hastings Open 2020 shows how Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is continuing to re-establish itself as one of the leading cultural venue in East Sussex. This will be an exciting  exhibition which  offers a prize of a residency at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, a solo show at blackShed Gallery and £500. Thanks to Kate Adams, Ellen Prebble, Kenton Lowe, Phoebe Cripps and Adam Jones, who will make up the selection panel for Hastings Open."

Hastings Open 2020 Key Dates

• Online submission closes:23 February 2020 (23:59)
• Selection notification: by 1 March 2020
• Shortlist submission: 17-21 March 2020
• Final selection: by 3 April 2020
• Exhibition: 2 May - 5 July 2020

Entry Costs

• £5 for one artwork
• £20 for up to 5 artworks

Prize

Single prize comprising:

• A solo exhibition at blackShed Gallery in 2021
• A residency at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery in 2020/21
• A cash prize of £500

Selection Panel

• Kate Adams - artist and CEO of Project Art Works, Hastings East Sussex
• Ellen Prebble - artist, Project Art Works, Hastings, East Sussex
• Kenton Lowe - blackShed Gallery, Robertsbridge, East Sussex
• Patrick Adam Jones -  Project 78 Gallery, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
• Phoebe Cripps - Hayward Gallery, London

Terms & conditions

• Only works submitted through the online portal will be considered for inclusion
• Please submit single images only. Digital slideshows or PowerPoint presentations will not be accommodated in the selection process.
• Moving image file attachments, DVDs, Blu-rays, VHS or Video CD will not be accepted.
• Work must have been produced since Jan 2017
• 2 dimensional work must not exceed a height of 150cm due to gallery display area.
• Maximum floor space for sculptures is 80cm x 80cmx 200cm due to door widths.
• Sculptures need to be easily portable.
• Art works need to be labelled on back of work with label provided once registration & payment is completed
• Prints must be one-off pieces, signed, numbered & limited edition
• Framed work should be suitably framed & will be hung with mirror plates
• Unframed work must include clear instructions for display with relevant fixings
• Art work must be for sale (Maximum price £10,000)
• The sale price will include the Museum's 15% commission + VAT
• Payment will be made to the artist at the end of the exhibition
• Overseas submission need to ensure all customs paperwork is complete with return documentation.
• Overseas work should be packaged for international transport
• The Museum will not cover costs associated to transport of work
• Exhibitors are responsible for arranging their own insurance to cover damage or loss to their artwork either in transit or whilst at the Museum.
• Images of selected art work will be used for promotional purposes only on Museum social media, print and website.

Enjoy quality time at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery this Christmas

Cllr Kim Forward lead councillor for culture is inviting everyone to visit Hastings Museum and Art Gallery; she said,
"Why not get together with your family and friends and enjoy fun and games for all ages at Hastings Museums & Art Gallery this Christmas holiday? Our museum is a great place to take the family and there's plenty to see and do to keep everyone occupied and it's all free."

Kicking off the holiday fun on Saturday 21 December and continuing through to Sunday, 5 January is the 'Presents' Arty Christmas Trail. Explore the galleries to find the presents hidden in our displays to complete the trail before decorating our 14ft Christmas tree with your arty creation.
 
For those of you who prefer the museum when it's quieter you can come along to our Relaxed Early Opening on Saturday, 28 December from 9-11.30am. During relaxed early opening sounds and videos are turned off so it's a less overwhelming environment for people. There is also a chill-out area if it all gets too much. You can download an access guide to the museum from our website to help support neurodiverse children and families, people with autism or additional needs before their visit.

There are also plenty of other fun activities around the museum including in our new exhibition Wunderkammer: Hastings Curiosities: build your own mini cabinet of curiosity or dress-up as your favourite portrait. On Sunday 29 December from 1-3pm our first Open Draw session invites you to draw, write or create your own response to the amazing collections on display in the exhibition. Paper, pencils and drawing boards will be available in the gallery for free.

New leisure and entertainment complex for Hastings?

A new leisure and entertainment centre for Hastings could be a step closer if approval is given for preparatory work at Hastings Borough Council's cabinet on 6 January.
 
Over the past few months, experts have been developing ideas for the complex, which included consulting with sports, leisure and arts organisations in the town. They have now produced a detailed report which will be considered at the cabinet meeting.
 
Cllr Kim Forward the council's deputy leader, said,
"I am very hopeful that cabinet will agree in principle to a new leisure centre, leisure water, and entertainment centre on the Bohemia site, with the possibility of adding an arts centre too if we can get the necessary funding. This will significantly improve our leisure and cultural facilities, benefitting the local community and tourists, so helping to boost the economy.
 
"If agreed at cabinet, detailed survey work will be carried out in the area next year. A report will be brought back to cabinet next autumn, reporting on the results of this work. We would then expect to decide on the site of the leisure and entertainment centre.
 
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform our leisure and entertainment facilities, benefitting local residents, visitors, and our economy."

You can find out more on our Bohemia development page

Town deal winning hand

Hastings Borough Council's cabinet is expected to give the go ahead for developing a 'town deal' bid at its meeting on 6 January.
 
Hastings is one of only 101 towns across the country eligible to bid for up to £25m from the Town Fund, launched by the last government in November 2019.
 
Council leader Peter Chowney said,

"The Town Deal offer is welcome, and gives us an opportunity to bring together a wide range of interests across the borough to look at what projects could be funded to address our local priorities.  This first phase provides £173,000 funding to put together a detailed proposal for what we would spend the £25m on.  Firstly, we have to establish a 'Town Board' that will represent different interests across the borough, including education, health, local authorities, businesses and the community sector. 

"This has to be done during January, so we will need to depend on those who have already been involved in local consultative structures.  It doesn't give us enough time to recruit board members from the wider community.  However, we will also be looking to set up a community engagement framework to assemble the final proposal by the end of next summer.  This proposal will then be negotiated with government, with funding provided early in 2021."

We will be looking to create a proposal that addresses some of the problems we have in Hastings - for example, a lack of affordable housing, low skills and educational achievement, and poor local transport infrastructure.  We will also be expecting funded projects to help achieve our goal of making Hastings carbon neutral by 2030.

However, £25m will not go very far in achieving those goals - we need far bigger investment in Hastings to deal with the very serious problems we have in Hastings.  It's a start, but we will be expecting the government to come up with far more ambitious plans for deprived coastal towns such as Hastings in the future."
You can find out more on our Town deal page.