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Internationally Acclaimed Contemporary Artists
Launch Major UK Triennial


Internationally acclaimed contemporary artists including Christian Boltanski, Tracey Emin, Mark Dion, Jeremy Deller, Tacita Dean and Mark Wallinger have been commissioned to create new works for the first Folkestone Triennial, Tales of Time and Space, which will open on 14 June and run until 14 September 2008.

One of the most ambitious public art projects to be presented in the UK, the Triennial is a three-yearly exhibition of works which will be specially created for public spaces throughout Folkestone.

The selected artists are David Batchelor, Christian Boltanski, Adam Chodzko, Nathan Coley, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Mark Dion, Tracey Emin, Ayse Erkmen, Sejla Kameric, Robert Kusmirowski, Langlands & Bell, Kaffe Matthews, Ivan & Heather Morison, Nils Norman with Gavin Wade mit Simon & Tom Bloor, Susan Philipsz, Public Works, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Mark Wallinger, Richard Wentworth, Pae White and Richard Wilson.

Following site visits in Spring 2006, the invited artists have developed proposals for the inaugural Triennial which engage with Folkestone’s colourful history, culture and built environment. The East Kent coastal town of Folkestone has long been a creative centre. Historically it has attracted luminaries as diverse as Charles Dickens, Derek Jarman, Jimi Hendrix, Marcel Duchamp and a host of 20th century literary figures from H G Wells to George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.

The inaugural Folkestone Triennial will include both temporary works, which will remain in situ for the three months of the exhibition, and a number of permanent works. This pattern will be repeated in subsequent Triennials so that, over time, Folkestone will become a true creative centre for contemporary art of the highest calibre. The Triennial is conceived and led by curator Andrea Schlieker, co-curator of the British Art Show 6, and aims to examine changing notions of art in the public realm.

An extensive Outreach programme, together with guided art walking tours, talks and workshops will be running throughout the 91 days of the Triennial.

An illustrated 128pp catalogue with an essay by the curator Andrea Schlieker and short texts by all of the artists will accompany the exhibition.

The Folkestone Triennial forms a major component of the creativity and arts-led regeneration of Folkestone which is being driven by The Creative Foundation, chaired by leading UK philanthropist Roger De Haan, former chairman of Saga. Other elements of the regeneration programme include a Foster + Partners Masterplan for the redevelopment of the harbour and seafront, a new 38m GBP City Academy specialising in the arts, a new University campus with a strong focus on arts courses, a new performing arts centre, and a Creative Quarter with over 100 artists already established in a growing number of refurbished studio, living and retail spaces. A new high-speed rail link from London will open in 2009. http://www.creativefoundation.org.uk


PRESS ENQUIRIES
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020 7221 5000 (5 lines)


The Folkestone Triennial is supported by:

The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust
Arts Council England
Kent County Council
The Creative Foundation
SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)
The Henry Moore Foundation
UBS
Bernard Sunley Charitable Trust
Shepway District Council
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Outset
Goethe-Institut London
AFAA/ Cultures France
The Folkestone Estate
SkyArts
Southeastern Trains
University Centre Folkestone
Vitra

http://www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk/