Council accepts Hastings Contemporary gift

At a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday 13 April, Hastings Borough Council voted unanimously to accept the donation of the Hastings Contemporary gallery building from the Jerwood Foundation.

The Jerwood Foundation, the philanthropic charity devoted to promoting the arts in the UK, offered to donate the building to the council for the benefit and wellbeing of the people of Hastings and East Sussex, as well as the gallery's many visitors from outside the town and region.

The gallery was opened as the Jerwood Gallery in 2012 and was reopened as Hastings Contemporary seven years later when Jerwood stepped back from its management and local leadership took control. The gallery will continue to be run by its local management.

Editor's Note:
The gallery, designed by HAT Projects, has won several architectural awards, including a RIBA National Award and a Civic Trust Award.  It was built on the Stade in Hastings, the central position on the town's seafront, at a cost of £5 million which was wholly funded by Jerwood.