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Free admission
Open Tues to Sun and
bank holidays 10am-6pm

Turner Contemporary

Photo Richard Bryant/Arcaidimages.com

Artist Tracey Emin and musician Jools Holland officially opened the gallery in April 2011

Photo Ady Kerry

JMW Turner
Margate watercolour 1830
Courtesy of Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
© Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

Family Workshops at Turner Contemporary

Photo Ady Kerry

Learning at Turner Contemporary

Auguste Rodin's The Kiss 1901-4 courtesy of Tate London 2011, installation view at Turner Contemporary

Photo Brian Moody

Family Workshops at Turner Contemporary

Photo Benedict Johnson

Turner Contemporary Sunley Gallery

Photo Alastair Fyfe

Turner Contemporary is a dynamic visual arts organisation that believes in making art open, relevant and fulfilling for all.

Inspired by JMW Turner’s sense of enquiry, we offer a space for everyone to embrace their curiosity and to discover different ways of seeing, thinking and learning.

We do this by offering a stimulating programme of temporary exhibitions, events and learning opportunities. This programme enables intriguing connections to be made between art from 1750 to the present day.

On Saturday 16 April 2011 our landmark new gallery, designed by Stirling Prize Winner David Chipperfield Architects, opened. Admission to the gallery is free. Watch the opening ceremony here.

Situated on Margate’s seafront, on the same site where Turner stayed when visiting the town, our gallery is the largest exhibition space in the South East, outside of London.

We are at the forefront of Margate’s exciting revival as Kent’s new cultural heart.

With the help of our funders, community and supporters, we stimulate change and build a warm, vibrant cultural space for everyone.

“Turner Contemporary’s purpose is to stretch the boundaries of current visual arts practice, to make the exhibitions sufficiently varied and to bridge the gap between the historical and contemporary.” Victoria Pomery, Director, Turner Contemporary

Whether you're an individual, family or group, there are many ways to get involved with Turner Contemporary:

- Visit outstanding exhibitions featuring work by internationally-renowned artists
- Participate in engaging and stimulating events
- Hire our venue space for meetings or a wedding
- Meet with friends and relax in our café
- Browse our shop
- Indulge in stunning sea views and beautiful architecture
- Become a supporter of Turner Contemporary

To see our latest vacancies, please visit our news page.

Most exhibitions and commissions result from direct invitations to artists. We do accept submissions from individuals or organisations.

If you would like to submit a proposal, please read and complete the Programme Proposal Form, available to download at the bottom of this page, and send it to the Exhibitions Team at Turner Contemporary, Rendezvous, Margate, CT9 1HG.

Please include a SAE if you would like your material returned. Please do not send any original material or anything that you need returned to you within one month. Due to the high volume of material we receive, we cannot guarantee an immediate response.

Turner Contemporary has today been longlisted for the Art Fund Prize 2012, the UK’s annual ‘museum of the year’ award, and the biggest prize for arts and cultural organisations in the country. Ten museums in total across the country are in with the chance to win £100,000 and the prestigious award, which will be announced on 19 June 2012.

Victoria Pomery Director Turner Contemporary, said: ‘I am absolutely thrilled that Turner Contemporary has been long listed for the 2012 Art Fund Prize. We’ve had an amazing first year with many thousands of visitors enjoying the gallery, programme and Margate. Our current highly acclaimed Turner exhibition opened 2012 with a bang and the great news today continues to demonstrate what an impact Turner Contemporary is having. We are delighted.’

Lord Smith of Finsbury, Chair of the Judges, said: ‘Whittling the achievements of Britain’s museums over the past year down to a list of ten was an unbelievably challenging task. The outstanding quality of the projects that we finally settled on, however, perfectly encapsulates the vitality and dynamism of a part of our nation’s cultural life that continues to innovate, push boundaries and engage the public, even in these straitened times.’

The ten longlisted museums are:

Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, Bucks.: The Life and Works of Alan Turing

M Shed, Bristol: A New Museum for Bristol

National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh: National Museum of Scotland Development

Riverside Museum, Scotland's Museum of Transport and Travel, Glasgow: Riverside Museum Project

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter, Devon: RAMM Development Project

The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, West Yorkshire: The Hepworth Wakefield

The Holburne Museum, Bath, Somerset: The Holburne Museum Development Project

The National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh: Portrait of the Nation

Turner Contemporary, Margate, Kent: Turner Contemporary

Watts Gallery, Guildford, Surrey: The Watts Gallery Hope Project

The Art Fund Prize 2012 rewards excellence and innovation in museums and galleries in the UK for a project completed or undertaken in 2011.

Following a shortlist of four museums to be announced on 14 May, the £100,000 cash prize will be awarded to the ‘Museum of the Year’ at a ceremony at the British Museum on 19 June. The annual prize has been awarded since 2003.

Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, said: ‘This year’s Art Fund Prize longlist truly reveals the creativity and ambition of museums and galleries beyond London. The vitality of our cultural treasures nationwide is a hugely important resource, and the Art Fund is extremely proud to celebrate these museums’ achievements through its sponsorship of the ‘museum of the year’ prize.’

The longlist was chosen by a panel of experts chaired by Lord Smith of Finsbury, former Labour MP and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The other judges are Professor Jim Al‐Khalili OBE, theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster; Charlotte Higgins, Guardian journalist and author; Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, author and broadcaster; Sir Mark Jones, Master at St Cross College, Oxford and former V&A director; Rick Mather, architect; and Lisa Milroy, artist and Head of Graduate Painting at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL.

The shortlist of four museums will be announced on 14 May 2012 and the winner on 19 June 2012.

‘Have Your Say’ online forum

Also launching today is the opportunity for local champions of each of the longlisted museums to say why their chosen museum should win the Art Fund Prize 2012. Members of the public are invited to log on to www.artfundprize.org.uk and leave their comments, a selection of which will be presented to the judges to consider when they come to decide the shortlist. Anyone who posts a comment will automatically be entered into prize draw to win an iPad 2. The forum and prize draw close at 11.59pm on Sunday 22 April 2012.

The Art Fund Prize is administered by The Museum Prize, a charitable company created in 2001 by representatives of National Heritage, the Museums Association, the Art Fund and the Campaign for Museums and chaired by Lady Cobham. These organisations agreed to put aside award schemes they formerly ran (including National Heritage’s Museum of the Year) and lend their support to this single major prize.

The Art Fund has sponsored The Museum Prize since 2008. The Art Fund is the national charity which helps museums and galleries to buy, show and share art for the enjoyment of all. Over the past five years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to buy art and supported a range of projects and programmes aimed at helping more people enjoy art.

The Art Fund is independently funded and the majority of its income comes from almost 90,000 supporters who purchase a National Art Pass, costing from just £37.50, which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions.

Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org.uk.