Sitting at opposite ends of the ‘Hastings-St Leonards’ promenade, two new public artworks Seawall and Painting the Prom bring the elemental nature and social role of our shoreline into active question. 

Starting in Old Hastings I track down Seawall on hearsay alone: a tumble of large, tethered blocks, with PVC coverings cleverly printed to look like concrete. Tucked neatly into in a small public square to the east of Hastings Contemporary gallery, this angular, interactive sculpture by Andreas Angelidakis is proving popular with summer visitors. The soft-play allusion appears to be a cue for participation, young people in particular gambol up them like mountain goats and parental calls of “needing to leave” are met with enthusiastic dissent. 

CREDIT: Amanda Knight

So with the popular vote secured, is Seawall a relaxed family-friendly artwork with a stony message? This is evidently a work that references climate change, the Gallery’s website coolly reminding us of its “close proximity to the seafront, and the encroaching ocean”. Living and working in Athens, Angelidakis describes himself as “an artist blurring fact and fiction”; his work often dealing with the “notion of ruin”. Seawall is one of seven site-specific artworks commissioned by England’s Creative Coast for their Waterfronts series, connecting the coastlines of Essex, Kent and East Sussex . 

Walking due West, to St Leonards, a meteoric rise in colour and mood hails the approach of the Goat Ledge Cafe. Just beyond the serving hut, on the lower promenade, a seamless stretch of newly decorated Suntrap Booths is brimming with occupants. Welcome to Painting the Prom, a series of murals “created by and for the people” in public participation with Good Stuff in St Leonards and Home Live Art.

Seawall by Andreas Angelidakis
CREDIT: Amanda Knight

Everything about this community-driven art project feels rigorous and authentic; dramatically different visuals respond to a universal callout theme of ‘Daydreaming’ and thrive in the bright coastal light. Visitors are keen to chat. First up I meet Bill from Eastbourne, he is absorbed with photographing the artwork by the Refugee Buddy Project (a Syrian Resettlement initiative). The welcoming banner “You are safe here” is the focus of Bill’s photo, and also a prevailing mood along the promenade as people take pleasure from re-claiming the booths that at times felt less than welcoming. 

Further along, I chat to Barry sitting in a turquoise booth wearing a turquoise T-shirt. He describes how the area is flourishing, in his words “a Notting-Hill style feel with art, cafes and antiques”. I ask him about his choice of booth and the colour he is wearing, he laughs, “unaware”. I remain quietly confident that the uplifting aquamarine and prismatic tones of the Seaview Wellbeing Centre mural played some part in his selection. 

Final chat of the morning goes to young Matilda, who defies age expectations and chooses the contemplative pebble-stone design by artist Scott Garrett as her favourite “because it tells us something”. Garrett’s artwork features a rhythmic arrangement of irregular pebble shapes with the words “Our differences don’t have to divide us”. 

• More information on the two installations from Painting The Prom Digital Gallery
goodstuffinstlens.com/ptp-gallery and englandscreativecoast.com

The answer turned out to be an interesting balance of possibly and, well, no, not very much. I picked the organisation known as “England’s Creative Coast” as a sample rather than looking over Hastings’ galleries, because ECC says things like: “The South East of England boasts some of the best culture in the world” and “through England’s Creative Coast, internationally-renowned artists will create something completely new”. Those are big claims. 

Of the seven institutions that make up ECC, the Towner Eastbourne, De La Warr Pavilion, and Turner Contemporary in Margate have made explicit statements of intent regarding solidarity, anti-racism, equality and inclusion. They also say things like, “as an organisation we recognise that we still have considerable work to do” (Turner website). This is the kind of response we want to be seeing, but also we won’t know what their promises are worth until months down the line, when we’ve seen some exhibition programmes, events, social media posts, and other possible indicators of a new attitude.

The Hastings Contemporary recently joined them, bringing the number up to four, and HC’s statement links in to the Arts Council and CVAN’s commitments. I mention the HC separately because the local gallery in the Source BMX park, Flatland Projects called them out on Instagram over their lack of response to Black Lives Matter statements and protests. It’s since then that we’ve seen a statement and an ‘inclusive’ Instagram post go up. A similar thing may have happened with other ECC institutions also, though the Towner seemed to be pretty on-point in its responses. 

You might be asking now, why the report? Why the witch-hunt? They’re only county arts institutions, they’re not promoting white supremacists… what more do we want? 

I’ll remind you: “best culture in the world” and “international” and “contemporary”. How can the best, international, contemporary culture in the world, primarily focus on white people? 

That middle-class white people, with the huge number of advantages we get growing up in Europe and the US, should represent most of the content of our “international” South Coast galleries is not particularly surprising. We’re still classist, racist, sexist – it’s endemic to Britain’s social system and that’s only changing slowly. Of course these bastions of traditionalist prosperity and cultural imperialism would have some work to do after noticing Black Lives Matter. We all have work to do. 

The point of mentioning information in this way, the point of Black Lives Matter protests, is to draw attention to the facts and the inequalities we prefer to ignore, and the resolution of inequalities that we prefer to delay with promises.     

ECC, and Britain generally, only cares enough to make these statements because people called out, shouted out, made noise. We will sink back into the status quo when that noise is not maintained.

‘The Holy Rebel’ exhibition at Stella Dore Gallery continues until 20th July. Read the result of our interview with the artist, Rugman. Read the HIP’s review here.

‘Sixty Feet of Water Between Life and Imaginative Obsession’ is a new exhibition of paintings at Elisabeth Bauer on George Street and runs until 4th July. Check their website for more info. 

‘Pic ’N’ Mix’, Georgie Wheeler’s solo show, continues at See Spray Gallery until 30th July. 

Benjamin Phillips’ ‘Road Trip’ Exhibition at The Crown on All Saints Street continues until the end of July. 

The Hastings Reggae Festival 2019, The Oval, Saturday 27th July. The family friendly event will include a stage of international Reggae, Dancehall, Dub and Jungle artists, as well as a simply irresistible selection of mouthwatering Caribbean food provided by market vendors from near and far.

• Official Ticket Link on Skiddle.com

England’s Creative Coast The breath-taking coastline of Essex, Kent and Sussex is home to some of the UK’s most critically-acclaimed galleries, arts organisations and art events. Seven of these institutions are joining forces for the first time to pioneer a cultural adventure that stretches from the South Downs to the Thames Estuary. Running from Spring to late Autumn of 2020, England’s Creative Coast is part of what these institutions see as a ‘cultural renaissance’ transforming the seaside towns and surrounding countryside of England’s South East. It’s led by Turner Contemporary and Visit Kent, but will make substantial inroads into East Sussex. 

The project has four main features: a series of seven art commissions; a GeoTour; the ‘Art Homes’ project (which sounds like it might not be dissimilar to our existing Coastal Currents); and a selection of ‘self-build itineraries’, combining elements of review and travel guide, which will be displayed on www.englandscreativecoast.com