Towner's bid for Bob & Roberta Smith

Towner is in the running to bring famous artist Bob & Roberta Smith to Eastbourne after the announcement of the Connect10 shortlist – with Towner the only Sussex cultural attraction to make it on to the list.

Make Art not War by Bob & Roberta Smith Eastbourne now needs your vote to beat off competition from Leeds and Bradford and win the ultimate prize – the artist himself! – who will come to the town to take part in a unique interactive event for all ages at Towner, followed by the first ever Museums at Nightclub!

Connect10 is an innovative project by Culture 24 that gives the public the chance to send one of ten leading contemporary artists to a gallery or museum of their choice for Museums At Night 2012. Galleries, heritage sites and museums the length and breadth of the UK submitted proposals outlining the event they would run if they won their preferred artist, and the two or three most exciting ideas for each artist were selected to go through to the public vote.

Bob & Roberta Smith is the alias of Patrick Brill, the sign-painter, activist and installation artist who uses text on recycled signs and floorboards. Towner’s event encourages everyone to Make Art Not War! by getting creative with Bob & Roberta Smith. If Towner is successful, on Saturday 19 May the whole building will become one giant interactive creative space where you can make and display your own art and signs, from the shop window to the industrial scale lift! With Smith providing ideas, inspiration and a helping hand, hundreds of people of all ages will fill the building with their own creations.

In the evening, Towner will transform into the first ever Museums at Nightclub. Inviting Smith to link the club night with his Resonance FM radio show, this will be an evening of creativity, entertainment, music and artistic encounters, culminating in the ultimate display of peace and unity – on the dancefloor.

Apathy Band at the barbican by Bob & Roberta Smith Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Councillor Neil Stanley said “We were so excited when the shortlist was announced – with all of the galleries and museums across the UK vying for one of these leading artists, it’s fantastic to have got this far – but now we need to make sure we bring this iconic artist to Eastbourne! Towner’s event promises to be truly inclusive – bringing hundreds of people into the gallery and allowing everyone the chance to work alongside a famous artist, and indeed become an artist themselves! – so please head to Culture 24’s website and cast your vote for Towner!”

Towner’s idea was inspired by Smith’s iconic 1997 piece Make Art Not War, a sentiment that resonates with the Towner Collection – renowned for its modern British art, it houses many works by the conscientious objectors known as the Bloomsbury Group.

Smith’s encouragement to make your own art echoes Towner’s own ethos – with six Towner exhibitions per year displaying artwork made by the thousands of participants in Towner’s learning and outreach programmes, creativity and productivity are at the very heart of the gallery.

To vote for Towner and bring iconic artist Bob & Roberta Smith to Eastbourne, please visit www.culture24.org.uk. Connect10 voting closes at 5pm on Monday 5 March.

Images kindly supplied by Bob & Roberta Smith

Published 21st February 2012