Turner Contemporary

Turner Contemporary is one of England's most acclaimed regional art galleries, occupying a striking modern building on Margate's seafront - the very spot where the great Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner stayed during his many visits to the Kent coast in the early 19th century.

The gallery opened in April 2011 and was designed by David Chipperfield Architects, the same firm responsible for the Royal Academy redevelopment in London and the Neues Museum in Berlin. The building consists of six identical pitched-roof modules clad in matt acid-etched glass, designed to reflect the changing light and weather of the Thanet coast that so fascinated Turner himself. Critics initially divided over the building's industrial appearance, but it has become an icon of Margate's cultural regeneration.

Inside, four large gallery spaces host an ever-changing programme of contemporary exhibitions - typically three or four major shows each year, alongside smaller display rooms and a learning studio. Past exhibitions have included major retrospectives of Tracey Emin (a Margate native), Yinka Shonibare, Grayson Perry, Anish Kapoor and J.M.W. Turner himself. The gallery has also commissioned ambitious site-specific works, including pieces by Antony Gormley.

A defining feature of Turner Contemporary is that admission is completely free - a deliberate choice to make contemporary art accessible to the local community as well as visiting tourists. The gallery has been credited as one of the key drivers behind Margate's cultural and economic revival, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and inspiring a generation of independent galleries, restaurants and shops in the surrounding Old Town.

The gallery sits directly on the seafront, with floor-to-ceiling windows in the main foyer offering uninterrupted views across the Thames Estuary - the same view Turner depicted repeatedly in his work. Many visitors come simply for the building, the views and the excellent café before exploring the wider Margate Old Town and Dreamland just along the seafront.

Facilities include a café, gift shop with locally-curated products, free wifi, baby change facilities and full wheelchair accessibility throughout. The gallery is dog-friendly in certain areas. There's a regular programme of free workshops, family activities, talks and events, and the learning studio runs schools and community engagement programmes year-round.

Turner Contemporary is closed on Mondays (except Bank Holidays) and over Christmas - check the website before visiting for current opening hours and exhibitions.

Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 11am – 5pm. Open on bank holidays. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Summer hours (April to October) extend to Tuesday opening - check the gallery's website for current details.