Sussex Modern : Ready to welcome and inspire!
As the UK moves forward out of lockdown Sussex Modern, home of stellar art, excellent wines and breathtaking landscape, is ready to welcome and inspire.
Having secured significant financial investment from a wide range of investors, along with new arts and viticulture partners, Sussex Modern is poised to create over £200k of campaigns to attract visitors to the region and rebuild the visitor economy after the pandemic. From Chichester to Hastings, the chalk cliffs and rolling hills of the South Downs, the abundance of sun-kissed, award-winning vineyards and a constellation of internationally celebrated galleries, cultural venues, artist’s houses and international festivals make Sussex the favourite destination for the independent spirit.
We are delighted that Sussex Modern has been recently recognised by new partners Brighton Dome, Brighton Festival and vineyards Tillingham , Ashling Park and Oastbrook Estate Vineyard as a partnership worthy of investment and are looking forward to welcoming other exciting new partners eager to join over the summer. The brand new appointment of Richard Marsden as our first Campaigns Manager will ensure that Sussex Modern will be proactive, ambitious and agile in our endeavour to change perceptions of Sussex, attract new visitors and celebrate the joy and variety of the region.
We invite you to join the dots, curate your own visit and embrace the culture, wine and landscape of Sussex Modern.
Sussex Modern would like to thank South Downs National Park Authority, East Sussex County Council, Lewes, Wealden and Rother District Councils, the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, private funders, and our partners for their financial support of the programme. We’re also pleased to be strategically working with 1066 Country, Visit Eastbourne, Visit Kent and Visit Essex in a joined up approach to recovery.
Sussex Modern art partners are:
Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts, Brighton Dome, Brighton Festival, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Charleston, Chichester Theatre, De La Warr Pavilion, Ditchling Museum of Art & Crafts, Farley’s Farm and Gallery, Glyndebourne, Hastings Contemporary, Lewes Depot, Pallant House, Towner Eastbourne, West Dean College of Arts & Conservation.
Our pioneering vineyards and wine estates are
Albourne Estate, Ashling Park, Bluebell Vineyard Estate, Bolney Wine Estate, Oastbrook Estate Vineyard, Oxney Organic Estate, Rathfinny Wine Estate, Ridgeview Estate, Stopham Estate, Tillingham, Tinwood Estate, Wiston Estate.
Our beautiful landscape partners are
Ashford Forest, Amberley Wild Brooks Nature Reserve, Cissbury Ring, Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Common, Firle Beacon, High Weald Area of Natural Beauty, Kingly Vale Walk, Long Man of Wilmington, Malling Down Nature Reserve, Pevensey Bay, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Seven Sisters and Friston Forest and Sheffield Parkland.
Insta: @sussexmodern
For press information please contact
Jennifer Grindley on j.grindley@charleston.org.uk, Georgia Mallinson on Georgiam@rathfinnyestate.com or Sally Ann Lycett on sally.ann.lycett@dlwp.com
Editors’ Notes : About Sussex Modern
Sussex occupies a unique position in the recent history of British thought, art, and literature. It has helped shape our modern world. One hundred years ago writers, artists and designers recognised Sussex and its landscape as a place of inspiration and an escape from the city. It suited their radical ideas, alternative lifestyles and independent spirits.
Today Sussex is studded with galleries, museums, artists’ houses and performance venues: extraordinary spaces that explore historic and contemporary stories of making while reflecting the essence of modern creativity. From the writings of Virginia Woolf to the paintings of Eric Ravilious, the photographs of Lee Miller and the type design of Eric Gill, Sussex Modern represents a rich assembly of artistic endeavour and talent. A changing programme of exhibitions, events and performances spotlights the best and most exciting contemporary work.
In this century Sussex has also inspired a new generation of creative pioneers. Working with the soil and climate, a modern winemaking industry has grown from the landscape and rapidly built an international reputation. With its high latitude, warm and dry maritime climate, and range of soil types, Sussex has the right characteristics and long seasons for grapes to mature to full ripeness. Widely awarded for their excellence, many thriving wineries now welcome visitors for wine tours and experiences. There are opportunities to see how the wine is made and to enjoy both still and sparkling varieties.
With the creation of the South Downs National Park in 2010 the county has opened up new ways to experience, enjoy and learn and its landscape, nature and history. The high chalk downs, cliffs and pebbled coastline are a distinctive feature of this quintessentially English countryside. Much of the county’s hinterland is part of the High Weald, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its own distinctive landscape of woodlands, rolling hills and hidden pathways was once the site of medieval iron forges and today offers plenty to explore, especially on foot or by bike.
Together the art, landscape and wine of Sussex make for a fascinating and refreshingly modern experience – one that stimulates the senses and rewards the curious. All just an hour or so from the capital.
Posted by sally on Thursday 15 April 2021