With its bold, colour-banded exterior and a collection of more than 5,000 works, Towner Eastbourne is the largest art gallery in the South East — and one of the best free things to do in the town. Named Museum of the Year and host of the Turner Prize, it’s a genuine cultural heavyweight right in the heart of Eastbourne. Here’s everything you need to know before you visit.
What is the Towner?
Towner Eastbourne is the contemporary art museum for South East England — a free public gallery that has been collecting and exhibiting art for over a century. You really can’t miss it: the building’s striking geometric exterior, a vast mural called Dance Diagonal by the artist Lothar Götz, is a landmark in its own right. Inside, it’s the largest purpose-built gallery in the South East, with changing exhibitions of historic, modern and contemporary art alongside its own remarkable permanent collection, drawing up to around 175,000 visitors a year.
A short history
The gallery owes its existence to Alderman John Chisholm Towner, who died in 1920 leaving a bequest of around twenty paintings, a sum of money and instructions to create “an art gallery for the people” of Eastbourne. The Towner opened in 1923 in an elegant 18th-century manor house in Manor Gardens, in the Old Town, where it remained for over 80 years. When the council sold that building in 2005, the town was left without a public gallery for several years — until, in April 2009, the Towner reopened in a purpose-built, concrete-and-glass gallery beside the Congress Theatre, designed by Rick Mather Architects. In 2023 it celebrated its centenary — 100 years of bringing art to the town.
The collection
At the heart of the Towner is a collection of more than 5,000 works, much of it exploring themes of landscape and environment. It’s best known for its modern British art — and above all for holding the largest and most significant collection in the world of work by Eric Ravilious (1903–1942), the celebrated painter and designer who studied and taught at the Eastbourne School of Art. His family deposited a major body of his work here on loan in 1982, and today the dedicated, free-to-enter Ravilious Gallery is a highlight for admirers and newcomers alike.
The wider collection reads like a roll-call of British and international art, with works by Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Paul Nash, Alfred Wallis, William Nicholson, Henry Moore and even Picasso, alongside leading contemporary names such as John Akomfrah, Tacita Dean, Grayson Perry and Wolfgang Tillmans.
Did you know? The Towner holds the broadest collection of paintings, illustrations and designs by Eric Ravilious anywhere in the world — a fitting tribute to an artist with deep Eastbourne roots.
Museum of the Year and the Turner Prize
The Towner’s reputation has soared in recent years. In 2020 it was named Art Fund Museum of the Year, the most prestigious museum prize in the country. Then, in 2023, it hosted the Turner Prize — one of the world’s leading contemporary art awards — the first time the prize had ever come to Sussex. For a gallery in a seaside town, it’s a remarkable pair of honours, and a sign of just how seriously the Towner is taken in the art world.
Exhibitions, cinema and more
There’s far more here than paintings on walls. The Towner runs an ambitious programme of changing exhibitions throughout the year, and since 2019 it has been home to the cosy Towner Cinema, screening new releases, documentaries, cult films, family screenings and classics. Add an Art School programme of creative activities for all ages, artist residencies, guided tours of the building, a Sensory Room, a Collection Library and the drop-in Tiny Towner space for under-fives, and it’s a genuine community hub as much as a gallery.
Café and shop
When you need a break, the Towner’s café bar is a relaxed spot for a proper coffee, a light lunch or a slice of homemade cake, and there’s a shop for art books, prints and gifts. It’s an easy place to spend a couple of unhurried hours, whatever the weather.
Visiting the Towner
Admission to the Towner and its Collection galleries is free all year round, with only the occasional special exhibition being ticketed. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, plus bank holiday Mondays (closed on other Mondays), generally from 10am to 6pm in summer and 10am to 5pm in winter — though it’s always worth checking the current times and what’s on before you visit. You’ll find it in the Devonshire Quarter, next to the Congress Theatre and Devonshire Park, an easy walk from the town centre and from Eastbourne station through the cafés and shops of Little Chelsea.
Local tip: because it’s free, indoors and world-class, the Towner is the perfect rainy-day option — and a natural pairing with a show at the neighbouring Congress or Devonshire Park theatres.
Towner Eastbourne: FAQs
Is the Towner free?
Yes. Entry to the Towner and its permanent collection is free all year round. Only the occasional special exhibition — around one a year — is ticketed.
What is the Towner known for?
It’s known for being the largest gallery in the South East, for holding the world’s biggest collection of work by Eric Ravilious, and for being named Museum of the Year in 2020 and hosting the Turner Prize in 2023.
When is the Towner open?
It’s open Tuesday to Sunday and on bank holiday Mondays, typically 10am–6pm in summer and 10am–5pm in winter. It’s closed on ordinary Mondays, so check ahead before you travel.
Where is the Towner in Eastbourne?
It’s in the Devonshire Quarter, next to the Congress Theatre and Devonshire Park, a short walk from both the town centre and Eastbourne railway station.
Did the Towner host the Turner Prize?
Yes — the Towner hosted the Turner Prize in 2023, the first time this major contemporary art award had ever been held in Sussex.
World-class art, a great café and a cinema — all for free — make the Towner one of Eastbourne’s cultural treasures. Add it to your list with our guides to the best free things to do in Eastbourne and the best things to do in Eastbourne.