Crowlink, South Downs; in this light you can see the lines from when it was last ploughed, in the 1940s. Photo Nikki Tomlinson
TOWARDS: a research year in Eastbourne & the South Downs
In spring 2026 I came to the end of a year’s intensive research exploring how, and whether, to create a new initiative supporting live practices - in particular movement, sound and performance - in and around Eastbourne where the Downs meet the sea.
This research stems from years of living in the South Downs, hosting artist friends very informally to develop work here, an ongoing outdoor movement practice, and engaging with art scenes along the coast. It’s also informed by experience of working within institutions and independently as a producer and curator, in Sussex but mainly in London and further afield, a desire to continue to support the conditions - and find new ways - for live work to thrive, and a sense that there could be more infrastructure, and a widening of contexts to support bold live practices in and around Eastbourne. For artists to make and present contemporary work, and for audiences to take part and experience it.
Seeing this town and landscape as a shifting one, in which we can all both imagine and contribute to positive change, this research, titled ‘Towards’, has involved conversations and collaborations with artists, activists, ecologists, farmers, land stewards, councillors, community stakeholders, arts organisations; a loose and far from exhaustive mapping of local arts provision; questioning my own practices, mentoring, site visits and hosting events as a form of field research.
One of these events was a walk & talk called this speck of rock led by ecologist and botanist Jonathan Timberlake, looking down at layers in the downland landscape rather than the epic view; how these layers have been shaped by humans, trade and other forces over millenia, and what the future - including caretaking and future heritage - might hold.
Another research event, titled Towards: Proximity & Distance was led by dance artist Carolyn Roy with 10 artists from different disciplines exploring a simple Allan Kaprow walking score in what I now think of as the ‘superbowl’ - one of the downs’ natural amphitheatres.
The approach overall has been fuelled by multiple and growing influences, supported by two broad anchoring questions - What Lights Up? (a phrase which Matthias Sperling uses in dance teaching, and kindly let me borrow), and Why bother? which has felt like a good litmus test at times. It’s also been informed by thinking about curatorial and producing models i have direct and indirect experience of, and by Helena Reckitt’s article From Coping to Curiosity: Unlearning and Reimagining Curatorial Habits of Care.
During this research phase I’ve met with so many brilliant people locally and further afield, around 60 in all, and these encouraging conversations, provocations and questions - arising from moving as well as talking - are all feeding forward in various ways. Thanks go to everyone involved and to Arts Council England for supporting the research.
next steps
Via the research and further fundraising, I’ve now co-designed a programme with artists and partners which will launch July 2026 and run til May 2027. It’s called LIVE EDITIONS. With a focus on movement, sound and performance, LIVE EDITIONS will take place in community spaces, galleries, and outdoor sites across Eastbourne and the Downs, unfolding across a year. The intention is to try out a range of approaches to place-based working, with Sussex and not Sussex-based artists leading residencies, gatherings, workshops, talks and performances which offer spaces for research, participation, and convivial and creative exchange among and between artists and audiences.
Please get in touch if you’d like to chat about this or if you would like occasional updates - once I have sorted out a mailing list!
Pilot events (2025)
above -
Towards: Proximity & Distance in the South Downs National Park (SDNP) led by dance and sound artist Carolyn Roy with participating artists Jean Abreu, Ben Ash, Korina Biggs, Kate Brown, Rachel Lopez de la Nieta, Lydia Newman, Ivy Tsui, Yumino Seki, Nikki Tomlinson, Clare Whistler. Drawing by Carolyn Roy.
below -
this speck of rock walk & talk in the SDNP led by local ecologist and botanist Jonathan Timberlake with guests Ben Chamberlain, Clair Chamberlain, Jo Chiswell-Jones, Loupe Cooper, Charlie Kronick, Robert Mcgowan, Graeme Miller, Liz Overs, Charlotte Still, Jenny Timberlake, Kaixiang Zhang.
