From art… to ABBA… to Australian connections to Hastings! Here’s a list of the exhibitions I’ve found taking place in East Sussex in August 2024.
This list started from my own desire to see what was happening in my local area over the summer. For some reason, it was very hard to find exactly what I wanted, so I ended up creating my own list. On the basis that I can’t be the only person who would find this list useful, I’m sharing the love!
Got any exhibition intel I’ve missed? Drop me a comment below!
Featured Image: Quentin Blake: 100 Portraits at Hastings Contemporary
Exhibitions in Brighton and Hove
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery has three exhibitions on in August:
- FINISHING SOON: The end date for ABBA One Week in Brighton is coming up soon on 4th August. This exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s 1974 Eurovision win in Brighton with photos, film and memorabilia.
- FINISHING SOON: Faces: Meet the Rembrandts also finishes on 4th August. This is a small exhibition of the Rembrandt etchings which are part of the Brighton and Hove Museums collection.
- See the Sea is a display of a variety of styles of paintings featuring sea and beach scenes through history (until May 2025).
Fabrica’s August exhibition is Why are we Stuck in Hospital? by Foka Wolf, which was produced by Ikon in Birmingham in 2023, and has now travelled to Brighton. Foka Wolf is an activist highlighting the experiences of adults with learning disabilities and autism in long-term hospitals. I enjoyed my visit to Ikon last summer, but I didn’t see this exhibition, so I hope to make it to this one (7th to 14th August 2024).
Preston Manor and Gardens have an interactive experience around the Opium War running at the moment called Shadows of Empire: Taking Tea at Preston Manor which looks really interesting. It only runs for two slots on Saturdays and Sundays, so you’re going to want to pre-book this one (until 27th October 2024).
Matisse: Drawing with Scissors runs at Hove Museum of Creativity until 1st September. This is a Hayward Gallery touring exhibition featuring 35 prints of his collages.
The Grange in Rottingdean presents Prydie: The Life and Art of Mabel Pryde Nicholson, the first exhibition of work by the artist in 100 years. Nicholson’s work has been overshadowed by the rest of her talented family – husband William Nicholson, sons Ben and Kit Nicholson, and brother James Pryde. I’m looking forward to seeing it for myself (until 26th August).
Exhibitions in East Sussex Towns
Exhibitions in Bexhill-on-Sea
There are three exhibitions to see at the De La Warr Pavilion this month:
- Barbara Kasten: Site Lines is the US artist’s first solo exhibition in a UK public gallery. Drawing inspiration from the De La Warr Pavilion’s architecture, this is a brightly coloured site-specific exhibition (until 1st September).
- Day and Heavy, Judah Leaves is Rebecca Bellantoni’s first major solo exhibition. Using sculpture and installation, it explores the relationship between Bellantoni and her godmother (until 1st September).
- Tschabalala Self: Seated has been in situ on DLWP Lawns since April 2023, but the end date is coming up soon (until 29th September).
Exhibitions in Eastbourne
The Towner has two exhibitions running at the moment:
- Maria Amidu: in the perpetual back and forth – a paper and text based installation. I reccomend being there for 4pm when air is blown into the gallery, disrupting the display. Ideal for anyone who either wants to be part of the art through what the artist describes as a ‘soft performative role’ or who enjoys tidying up. I probably fall into the second camp (until 8th September).
- Emma Stibbon: melting ice rising tides connects more remote environmental disasters with the effect they have on the Sussex coastline. I’m very interested to see her artworks, some of which are made from local seawater. It looks like this was previously a paid exhibition which has been made free during the summer holidays, so this is the perfect opportunity to see it if you’re on a budget (until 15th September).
Exhibitions in Hastings
Hastings Contemporary has two exhibitions on until 8th September 2024. I’ve already seen both of these, and highly recommend them:
- Elias Sime: Eregata showcases the Ethiopian artist’s use of found and recycled materials, particularly electrical equipment, to create gigantic artworks, often evoking a city map.
- Quentin Blake: 100 Portraits does what it says on the tin. 100 portraits created in the artist’s distinctive style, in a variety of sizes and mediums. I don’t think these are based on real people, but we enjoyed picking out the ones who looked like people we knew!
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery has an exhibition called On the Edge of Nothingness by local artist Jo Israel. The museum’s website explains these works as ‘the shadow imprints left on the back of the pages of engraved illustrations, formed as the result of the ink soaking into the fabric of the paper over many years, partially exposing, like ghosts, the images hidden on the reverse’ (until 6th October).
Hastings Fishermen’s Museum is celebrating 200 years of the RNLI. I think’s it on till the end of October, but the details are a little vague.
Hastings History House has an exhibition about Australian connections to Hastings and Hastings Lifeboats. Details on this one are a bit vague, too, but I think it’s till the end of October.
Exhibitions in Lewes
Charleston in Lewes (not to be confused with Charleston Farmhouse) has two exhibitions running until 8th September 2024.
- Duos: The Art of Collaboration, which celebrates the artistic collaboration of a large group of artistic pairs.
- Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: An Untold Story combines nicely with the Duos exhibition. It explores the hidden story of the artists’ romantic relationship and artistic collaboration.
Exhibitions in Rye
Lamb House is celebrating its 300th birthday! Learn about the history of the building and it’s famous former inhabitants, including author Henry James (until 3rd November). Lamb House is open Friday-Tuesday, and isn’t open all year round – I have yet to time a visit to Rye with it being open, but hopefully I’ll get there in time to see this exhibition.
Rye Art Gallery has a couple of exhibitions on this month:
- FINISHING SOON: Pathways, with Denise Franklin and Jane Beecham (until 11th August)
- En Plein Air is at call out stage, to artists who paint outside (from 24th August till 29th September)
Exhibitions in the East Sussex Countryside
Farleys House and Gallery in Chiddingly has three exhibitions on in August:
- Listen to What you See showcases Amy Grantham’s kaleidoscopic pastel brights in her first solo exhibition (until 1st September 2024).
- Farleys 75 Years, I Remember celebrates 75 years since Lee Miller and Roland Penrose moved to Farleys with photographs of visitors over the years alongside video interviews with people who spent time at the farmhouse (until 31st October 2024).
- Lee and LEE will be pairing Lee Millers photography with stills from the new Kate Winslet film, LEE, which comes out in September (1st August to 31st October 2024).
If you’ve never been to Farleys, then I’d highly recommend booking a guided house tour (online in advance) to explore the home of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, complete with incredible art and tales of their surrealist friends. Disclaimer: I used to work here, but I applied for my job because I enjoyed the house tour so much!
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft has an exhibition called Blooming Brilliant: The Life and Work of Raymond Briggs, which I am dying to see. It combines artworks with items from the late artist’s Sussex home (until 27th October).
Finally, there are two exhibitions at Charleston Farmhouse in Firle right now. Both are on till 13th October. I went to Charleston for the first time recently, and I really enjoyed both of these.
- Matthew Smith: Through the eyes of Patrick Heron – this exhibition showcases both artists, and also explores the Post-Impressionist Smith’s influence on Modernist Heron. I adored both artists’ use of colour.
- Anne Rothenstein is an artist who uses both paint and collage to create somewhat surreal imagery. I love her distinctive figures, but the haunting Unknown Territory 1 is the painting which I keep coming back to.
That sums up all the art and history exhibitions I’ve found for East Sussex this month – which would you most like to see?
