The Front
8. Children Of The Main Sands - Local Kids
Children of the Main Sands celebrates the creativity of Thanet’s youngest artists. As a proudly kid-friendly pub, Cinque Ports wanted to make space on its walls for local children and ensure this exhibition wasn’t just about the grown-ups.
The show brings together artworks by children aged 0–12, each offering their own interpretation of the Main Sands. As many pieces as possible will be displayed throughout the pub, turning it into a joyful, community-led gallery. From all submissions, 10 winning artworks will be selected and turned into a limited-edition postcard pack, sold in the pub throughout 2026, with all profits donated to The Thanet Youth Network.
How to enter:
Bring artwork into the pub or upload it via this link: https://forms.gle/hw5WbmuMM16B6n9k6
Deadline for submissions is 12th Jan 2026
CINQUE PORTS PUB, 50 MARINE TERRACE, MARGATE, CT9 1XJ
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible in main room
Suitable for under 18s
Fri 4–11pm, Sat 12–11pm, Sun 12–7pm
9. Making Strange - Lupen Crook
This exhibition presents a new body of oil paintings by Lupen Crook, developed through processes of automatism and intuitive mark-making. Drawing inspiration from a collection of antique children’s books, the works fuse sacred shapes and personal iconography into dense, symbolic visual fields. Crook uses painting as a means of externalising internal thought processes, allowing subconscious imagery to surface and take form. The resulting works function both as narrative fragments and meditative spaces, where memory, ritual, and imagination intersect. Embedded within the paintings is an element of therapy: a confrontation with lived experiences of mental illness and the challenges this creates when navigating an overwhelming modern landscape. The exhibition invites viewers into a raw, reflective exploration of vulnerability, resilience, and symbolic inner worlds.
HARBOUR ARM, MARGATE, CT9 1AP
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible, Suitable for under 18s
Fri-Sun 11am–6pm
10. Car Meet - Ellie Cotton, Billy Crosby, Ollie Dook, Sian Newlove-Drew, Jack Evans, Laura Footes, Luca George, Rosie Kennedy, Rosie Mcginn, Sam Meredith, Bob & Roberta Smith, Jessica Voorsanger And Josh C Wright
Car Meet reimagines the classic “boy racer” car meet. Rolling into Dreamland Car Park, these cars trade souped-up engines for souped-up sculptures, paintings and the like.
DREAMLAND CAR PARK (ENTRANCE VIA HALL BY THE SEA ROAD) MARGATE CT9 1XJ WHAT3WORDS: ///MONKEY.GRABS.CARE
Accessibility: The exhibition is held outdoors and is fully accessible for wheelchair and pram users. The ground is flat and easy to navigate, with no steps or barriers at any point throughout the space. There are no enclosed areas, so lighting is natural during the day, and visibility is generally very clear. There will also be no flashing lights or loud amplified music, making the environment comfortable for visitors with sensory sensitivities.Suitable for under 18s
Sat-Sun 10am –4pm
11. HOFFS
Koupes Palace - Kkailou & Brigitte Aphrodite
Koupes Palace invites guests into a Cypriot kitchen-meets-sound playground. Visitors can tuck into homemade Cypriot food whilst an immersive sonic installation comes to life, on the hour, every hour.
Friday 23rd January–10am–8.30pm Saturday 24th January–10am–8.30pm Koupes Palace Party: Saturday 24th January–Party 9pm–12am
https://buytickets.at/hoffs/1976770
A Serious Artistic Event (With Cats), Chip Minnellis, Mr Gay, Charlie Mittens, Dre Spisto.
A SERIOUS ARTISTIC EVENT (with cats): A weird n wonderful salon style cabaret feast in the dungeon... sorry basement
Fri–6.30pm–8.45pm
https://buytickets.at/hoffs/1990193
8 Hours Negotiating Art, Power, and Participation: A Fishbowl Conversation with the Margate Anarchist Reading Group
This is an experimental, durational performance examining the cultivation and curation of cultural capital featuring a group of artists from the MARGS Collective.
Taking place over 8 hours, MARGS Collective artists will engage in a ‘fishbowl conversation’ about an anarchist approach to art. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in any way that feels comfortable - either as consumer-spectator or as a citizen-artist.
The performance will be considering questions including: Is there a form of ‘meritocratic elitism’ that is defensible? Was there a time you felt included or excluded by an art institution - what created that feeling? Does this conversation replicate or remove hierarchy?
We will be examining a series of texts that can be useful to participate in the discussion in advance of the event - follow Margs Reads on Instagram for more information.
Link to website or for more info: https://www.instagram.com/margsreads/
Saturday 24th January, 11am-7pm
Groundations Afterparty At Hoffs, Paul Camo And Raggamuffin
An afterparty for the Off-Season opening night, Paul Camo and Rudi Minto de Wijs (Raggamuffin) playing all night long in the Hoffs Basement.
Fri 9pm –2am
HOFFS BASEMENT, 18 MARINE DRIVE, MARGATE, CT9 1DH
Open: Friday 23rd January–10am–8.30pm Saturday 24th January–10am–8.30pm Koupes Palace Party: Saturday 24th January–Party 9pm–12amGroun
HOFFS is in the old Waverley House building (formerly The Kings Head Hotel, one of the oldest in Margate dating back to 1755). Access to the main bar is via one steep step from the pavement.
Access down to the basement venue is down approx 20 steps. The floor of the basement is concrete and ever so slightly uneven at points.
Access to the toilets are via 12 steps from the ground floor.
There is one disabled bay out of the front of the building.
Lighting will be dimmed for the performance. There will be loud music.
Our team will be on hand to assist with any questions or access needs during the event. If you have specific requirements, please contact Kkailou ]
(https://www.instagram.com/kkailou.world) in advance so that we can ensure your visit is as comfortable as possible.
12. Mother - No Cash Value
What is it like to be raised by a parent who struggles with their mental health?
MOTHER is a portrait of my mum and the complexity of her struggles, through my eyes and lived experience as her daughter.
Memories are expressed through sound, projected image, and written word.
MARINE STUDIOS 17 ALBERT TERRACE MARGATE KENT CT9 1UJ
Accessibility: Marine Studios is located in a historic building and does not have step‑free access. Entry is via external and internal stairs, so unfortunately it is not wheelchair or pram accessible
Suitable for under 18s
Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 10am–5pm
13. Sea Shadows - Elizabeth Walker
Sea Shadows presents a new collection of cyanotype prints drawn from the works debuted in FLOAT at Joseph Wales Studios in October 2025, where Elizabeth Walker transformed beached jellyfish, found along Margate’s shoreline, into luminous blue photograms. Shaped by the ever-changing seascape, the artworks capture the tension between fragility and endurance, preserving the delicate trace of a once-living form; a subtle shadow memory of the sea.
The title of each piece is a What3Words ‘address’ marking the exact location where the jellyfish was found: a unique code that anchors the artwork to a single point on the map. These coordinates act as spatial markers, forming a poetic cartography of Margate’s coast.
LITTLE SWIFT 7-8 MARINE DRIVE MARGATE CT9 1DH
Accessibility:
• wheelchair/pram access from 7-8 Marine Drive
• access via steps on 26 The High Street
• this is a bar environment so music will be played during the exhibitionSuitable for under 18s
Fri–Sat 12–11pm, Sun 12-10pm
14. Primark - Studio Holders At The Margate School
A DIY takeover of the old Primark: artists and makers from The Margate School transform the ground floor into a pop-up marketplace of creativity. Ceramics, sculpture, textiles, installation, print, and more—each studio artist curates their own mini shop to show and share their work. Free drop-in workshops run throughout the event, inviting the public to get hands-on and explore the school’s diverse talent.
OLD PRIMARK BUILDING 46 HIGH STREET, MARGATE, CT9 1DS (ACCESS FROM MARINE DRIVE/SEA FRONT)
Accessibility: The event takes place on the ground floor of the former Primark building: a large, open, fully wheelchair-accessible space that has been cleared and prepared for public use. All other areas of the building, including the upper floors, will remain closed. The atmosphere will be calm, with no loud or harsh sounds, and all workshops are designed to be low-pressure, creative, and accessible for all ages. Suitable for under 18s
Fri-Sun 12pm–5pm
15. Scenes In Red - Joline Kwakkenbos/Los Amantes - Caroline Mackenzie
Joline Kwakkenbos and Caroline Mackenzie return to Big Shot for Off Season 26. Scenes in red will be remade by Joline on out mirror in the upstairs space and Caroline will be showing a new sculptural light work Los Amantes in the basement space.
BIG SHOT DINER, 3 MARINE DRIVE, MARGATE, CT9 1DH
Accessibility: There are steps at the entrance but we have a ramp we can deploy. The basement space is not accessible
Suitable for under 18s
Fri-Sun 9am-4pm
16. Winter Break Me - Cecilia Bonilla, Jemima Brown, Chiara Williams
‘Winter Break Me’ surrenders to the discomfort of the cold season, extending an invitation to pause. Devised specifically for the Off-Season weekend, this exhibition of sculpture, film and performance unfolds within the domestic spaces of a high-end apartment, in a building that served as a hotel and tavern from 1754 until the mid-20th-century decline of the seaside tourist industry. The artists’ works gently engage with the apartment’s shifting light, its interiors and existing décor, while afternoon tea is served daily, 4–5pm, framed by one of the finest sunset views across Margate Sands.
FLAT 4, ROYAL YORK MANSIONS, THE PARADE, MARGATE, CT9 1EZ
Accessibility: Not wheelchair/pram accessible. The venue is on the second floor. Two flights of wide stairs with handrail. No shoes inside the venue, slippers provided. Suitable for all ages. Afternoon tea is drop in 4-5pm but not guaranteed. Suitable for under 18s
Fri-Sun 12pm–5pm, Artists in conversation Sunday 4–5pm
17. Turner Contemporary X Margate Radio Lates - Speakers Corner Quartet + Local Djs And Musicians
Margate Radio is back! Taking over Turner Lates for a special evening of live music, DJs, plus delicious food and drink pop-ups, this unique, multi-sensory experience is headlined by South London's visionary Speakers Corner Quartet. For a flavour, check out their cover of This Is How We Walk On The Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_d172uhVls
TURNER CONTEMPORARY, RENDEZVOUS, MARGATE CT9 1HG
Accessibility: The venue is wheelchair accessible, and there is a lift serving both floors. There will be loud music and low lighting in some areas. The Drawing Studio and galleries are well-lit and will be open during the event. There are accessible toilets, gendered toilets and single cubicle all-gender toilets.Suitable for under 18s
Fri 5.30pm–9pm
https://turnercontemporary.org/whats-on/events/turner-lates-x-margate-radio
18. Zoozve Micro Museum - Alex Foster, Megan Sangster, Emily Rogers
Transforming our hidden back rooms into a pop up micro museum, celebrating the heartwarming story of how a simple mistake by local illustrator, Alex Foster, resulted in attention from NASA and a quasi moon being officially renamed - ZOOZVE.
We’ll also be hosting a vintage Jewellery pop up courtesy of unloved ones, reviving unloved, preloved & vintage jewellery.
OPAL MARGATE, 27 FORT ROAD, MARGATE, CT9 1HF
Accessibility: The venue is in a bright airy shop, we are located on a hill, there are wide double doors at the entrance with a very low sloped step, easily accessible for prams. There will be low level background music played in the space. The area we’re planning on setting up the Zoozve museum or “Zoozveum” will be accessed via the shop, visitors will need to go through a regular door to get into the pop-up. This zone will have dimmer lighting and potentially projections, but no strobing. Unloved Ones vintage jewellery popup will be hosted in our main shop floor area.
Suitable for under 18s
Fri-Sun 11am–4pm
19. The Crunchie Bar - Guy Oliver
A new video work that looks back at the world of reality tv in the pioneering decade of the 2000s. The film concentrates on an interview with Joe Stone, a contestant on the channel 4 show Shipwrecked and their astonishing behind-the-scenes story.
FORT ROAD HOTEL, 18 FORT ROAD, CT91HF
Accessibility: Wheelchair and pram access to mezzanine bar floor. Stair down to basement part of the bar but exhibition is visible from Mezzanine. Low level lighting and some daylight until dusk. Suitable for under 18s
Fri-Sun 12pm–5pm
27. By the Light of the Candle -Eloise Knight, Megan Menzies, Grace Tobin and Maud Whatley
A group exhibition Eloise Knight, Megan Menzies, Grace Tobin and Maud Whatley which brings together artists Eloise Knight, Megan Menzies, Grace Tobin and Maud Whatley in an exploration of intimacy, illumination and shadow. Through tender and evocative works, the exhibition traces the flicker between passion and restraint, desire and quiet reflection.
Across painting and drawing, the exhibition is united by a sensitivity to atmosphere and emotional nuance, favouring slowness, softness and ambiguity over clarity. Light operates as both a material and a metaphor, shaping how moments, bodies and interiors are revealed or obscured, and echoing the ways memory and feeling alter perception. Familiar scenes appear gently distorted or partially withheld, as if recalled rather than directly observed.
Liminal Gallery, 34 Fort Hill, Margate, CT9 1HD
Accessibility: Not accessible for prams or wheelchairs due to 2 steps leading up to gallery and a door which doesn’t open fully due to the quirky nature of the building. Big windows across the frontage means the majority of the exhibition can be seen from outside.
Under 18s: Yes
Friday 23rd: 11-4pm, Saturday 24th: 11-4pm
Private View: Saturday 24th: 5-8pm