Margate is a-buzz currently with young and old getting rather excited about their new Turner Contemporary art centre, but can it save Margate?
That’s a question which has been floating around the seaside town for a couple of years now since the project was announced and received the go-ahead.
It is only in the past 12 months that things really seem to have picked up for the town, with the once deserted Old Margate town streets now filled with cafes, small shops and the odd gallery or two. Almost all have moved in within the past year, and almost all are banking on the gallery doing for Margate what the Tate did for St. Ives in Cornwall.
So can the gallery live up to the hype?
That’s something which will only be truly answered when we see the crowds flocking, but initial indications seem to suggest that people are already re-discovering Margate even before the gallery actually opens.
The people the gallery is no doubt aimed at, along with quite a few of the shops are the young professionals from London and surrounding counties, and perhaps stealing a few of them from Brighton which also saw its fortunes turned round by the same generation.
The gallery itself only opens on April 16th and will be opened by Tracy Emit – her of messy bed fame – with an exclusive exhibition of her work hanging there for the opening. Expect it to be extremely busy around that time, but we predict within a couple of weeks it’ll be a much more enjoyable experience.
After that, everyone’s fingers will be crossed that it continues to attract plenty of visitors to keep the rejuvenation process going and bring the seaside town back to its former glory.
More Margate Links:
Lots of things to see and do in Margate
Hotel accommodation in Margate
Turner Contemporary art centre
