Photo: David Levene
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched by the Art Fund for them to purchase Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, Kent, the former home and garden of Derek Jarman.
The campaign is aiming to raise £3.5 million before March 31, and intend
to establish a permanently funded programme to conserve and maintain the building and garden for the future.
Although grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, the Linbury Trust and private donations have raised half the target, they’re now calling on the public to help raise the rest.
The campaign was launched by Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar last night, with the support of Tilda Swinton, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Michael Craig-Martin and Wolfgang Tillmans.
A number of artists including Craig-Martin, Dean, Deller, Tillmans, Isaac Julien and Howard Sooley are creating limited edition works of art as rewards for donations to the crowdfunding site. They range from £25 to £1250 in price.
If the campaign is successful, Art Fund, Creative Folkestone and Tate aim to maintain free public access to the cottage’s garden, launch artist residencies and guided public visits within the cottage itself.
Creative Folkestone will become custodians of Prospect Cottage, oversee its long-term care and run these programmes, while Jarman’s archive, including his sketchbooks and plans for the garden, will be entrusted to Tate and made available for public access at Tate Britain.
You can donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.
