JERWOOD GALLERY TO RELAUNCH AS HASTINGS CONTEMPORARY AFTER DISPUTE WITH SPONSOR

Jerwood Gallery in Hastings, England, has announced that it is rebranding following a split from its sponsor, the Jerwood Foundation. The institution will be forced to return nearly three hundred works that were amassed by the foundation’s chairman Alan Grieve, but thanks to an anonymous donation of more than $330,000, it will be able to continue operations.

The arts space will be known as Hastings Contemporary and will be led by Jerwood Gallery’s founding director, Liz Gilmore. “Hastings Contemporary will bring dynamic, museum-quality art to Hastings,” Gilmore said in a statement. “We want to encourage new ways of looking—contrasting historic works with today’s artists, showing works in a range of media, and celebrating both national and international practitioners.”

Despite the end of the foundation’s funding agreement with the gallery, Hastings Contemporary will continue to occupy the foundation’s seaside building. Its inaugural programming will feature artists such as Tal R, Roy Oxlade, and Quentin Blake. Works by Varda Caivano, Anne Ryan, and Victor Willing will also be on view later in the year. According to a release, the venue will focus on presenting exhibitions, commissioning new work, and forging new partnerships with national museums and collections.

Commenting on the gallery’s impact on the town, Hastings Borough Council leader Peter Chowney said: “Jerwood Gallery has become a well-established attraction in Hastings. It has been a cornerstone of the borough’s cultural regeneration program, helping to establish Hastings as one of the key cultural centers of the south coast.”