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Image Her Majesty The Queen with artist Tracey Emin, standing in front of JMW Turner's Crossing the Brook.
Photo Alastair Fyfe
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Today, Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited Turner Contemporary.
An honour for the gallery, this historic moment came after a hugely successful first seven months, which has seen Turner Contemporary welcome over 300,000 visitors.
Her Majesty The Queen met with gallery Director Victoria Pomery, Chair John Kampfner and key members of staff. She was taken on a tour of the gallery, where she was introduced to guests including artist Tracey Emin, architect Sir David Chipperfield, and Deputy Director of Tate Alex Beard.
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Image Her Majesty The Queen meets Blank Canvas participants, here seen with Melody. Photo Alastair Fyfe
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The Royal couple met with the young winners of our Page Turner competition, whose works hang in the gallery, pupils from Northdown Primary School and Hartsdown Technology College who were involved in activities in the Clore Learning Studio, and participants from our current and past community projects; Artworks, Blank Canvas, Cultural Ambassadors, The Great Art Quest, Generate and Art of Sound, as well as our Youth Navigators.
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Image Her Majesty unveils the commemorative plaque.
Photo Alastair Fyfe
Image HRH The Duke of Edinburgh meets artist Tracey Emin, with Director Victoria Pomery. Photo Alastair Fyfe
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During the visit, Her Majesty unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion.
'We have had a fantastic response from our visitors, who have travelled from far and wide to Margate to experience the gallery and the art we have on display for free here.
We know the positive benefits we have already brought to the local economy, and I am delighted that The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have been able to witness this impact for themselves.'
– Victoria Pomery, Director of Turner Contemporary.
'The visit of The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh is a moment to celebrate for Turner Contemporary and the town, and confirms our status as a leader in our field and a gallery of international status.'
– John Kampfner, Chair of Turner Contemporary
'The visit of Her Majesty the Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to Turner Contemporary is not just a great moment for Margate but a major acknowledgement for British contemporary art. And it's so exciting - Margate's on the map again.'
- Tracey Emin, artist
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Photo Alastair Fyfe
Her Majesty meets Head of Learning Karen Eslea and school children involved in activities in our Clore Learning studio. Photo Alastair Fyfe
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Blueprint for arts led regeneration
Since opening in April this year, Turner Contemporary has become a blueprint for arts led regeneration. The gallery has already established an international profile, attracting visitors from across the UK and beyond to Margate, putting the seaside town firmly back on the map and bringing significant economic benefits to local businesses.
In Margate Old Town, situated close to Turner Contemporary, 35 new businesses have opened in
the last 18 months alone. Her Majesty The Queen's visit follows this hugely successful beginning for Turner Contemporary.
Before visiting the gallery, Her Majesty was taken on a tour of Margate Old Town and met a number
of local businesses including The Cup Cake Café
and Blackbird shop.
This is the first time since 1993 that Her Majesty has visited Margate.
Support our work
You can support Turner Contemporary's on-going success by making a donation to support our work.
To make a donation today, text TURN01 and the amount to 70070 or contact Lhosa Daly on
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To see the live Twitter feed, find us @TCMargate
and the hashtag #HMMargate.
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For all press enquiries,please call 01843 233020
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