The Folkestone Triennial started in 2008. The Triennial is a three-yearly exhibition of both temporary and permanent works; the largest recurring exhibition of newly commissioned works in the public realm by internationally acclaimed and emerging artists. It was conceived and is led by curator Andrea Schlieker. The Folkestone Triennial takes place in several locations in the public realm, all across the town of Folkestone on the south coast of Kent.

The inaugural Triennial was held over three months from June to September 2008. Twenty-two British and international artists and artist groups were commissioned to create new works for public spaces throughout Folkestone. Entitled Tales of Time and Space, the first Triennial focused on Folkestone itself, its people and its stories. It received international acclaim and was one of the most ambitious public art projects to have been presented in the UK.

The selected artists were invited to develop new works for FolkestoneÕs streets, squares, beaches and historic buildings to create a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition in the public domain. Participating artists in the 2008 Triennial were David Batchelor, Christian Boltanski, Adam Chodzko, Nathan Coley, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Mark Dion, Tracey Emin, Ayse Erkmen, Sejla Kameric, Robert Kusmirowski, Langlands & Bell, Kaffe Matthews, Ivan & Heather Morison, Nils Norman with Gavin Wade mit Simon & Tom Bloor, Susan Philipsz, Public Works, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Mark Wallinger, Richard Wentworth, Pae White and Richard Wilson

The East Kent coastal town of Folkestone has long been a creative centre. Historically it has attracted figures as diverse as Charles Dickens, Derek Jarman, Jimi Hendrix, Marcel Duchamp and a host of 20th-century literary figures from HG Wells, to George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.

The Tirennial is focused on commissioning site-specific works by acclaimed and emerging artists in the public realm and providing a strong program of educational events. Given that Folkestone has no museum or public gallery, legacy is an important aspect of the Triennial. Eight of the twenty-two works commissioned in 2008 now remain permanently in the town. They are Adam Chodzko’s sign and accompanying film Pyramid; Nathan Coley’s illuminated light structure Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens; Tracey Emin’s seven small bronzes Baby Things; Patrick Tuttofuoco’s three-metre-high, multi-coloured F O L K E S T O N E sign on the harbour arm and accompanying film; Mark Wallinger’s Folk Stones, containing 19240 numbered beach pebbles, each symbolising a life lost on the first day of the Battle of the Somme; Richard Wentworth’s Racinated, a series of ten text plaques in Folkestone’s public thoroughfares; Pae White’s Barking Rocks, a rustic dog park for Folkestone’s dogs and their owners; and Richard Wilson’s 18 Holes, a series of three beach huts on the coastal promenade re-fashioned from the former crazy-golf course.

The Folkestone Triennial will return in 2011 with its second exhibition, again curated by Andrea Schlieker. The objective remains to commission international art of the highest calibre accessible to the widest audience, engaging with local people and encouraging visitors and arts professionals to experience the growing cultural offer of the town. A Million Miles From Home explores the theme of Folkestone’s relationship with the wider world, recognising the town’s geographical position as both a gateway to and from continental Europe, and as a frontier location, isolated on the very edge of Britain.

A Million Miles From Home will articulate the sense of being between worlds, of displacement and separation, of transience and having to find bearings in an unknown elsewhere. It alludes to unease about unfamiliar surroundings as much as to wonder at this experience. There will be particular focus on social and political matters, especially those arising from migration and exile, colonialism and its aftermath, and on questions of place and language. But it is not only the geopolitical and “post-national” connections that will be made; the theme will also be played out in a fictional imaginary, through ritual, myth and fairytale. Works in the exhibition will challenge our notions of centre and periphery, local and global, as well as knowledge and superstition, fact and fiction.

The 2011 Triennial presents acclaimed and emerging artists from a number of countries not represented in the previous exhibition. The selected artists either live or have biographical backgrounds in countries as diverse as Algeria, Morocco, Kosovo, Israel, Egypt, Guyana, India and Brazil, as well as Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Britain and the US. A local artist collaborative will also be represented for the first time. Together, they bring their stories and experiences to Folkestone, finding elements of shared ground and connecting threads. The artists’ work will draw parallels and similarities with a wide international context; look outwards as well as in; and juxtapose the unfamiliar with the familiar.

An important feature of A Million Miles From Home will be the range of new and unusual sites for the works. Some of the sites will be on view for the first time for residents and visitors alike. Overgrown, locked up, hidden or secret—the Triennial will present major new works while revealing extraordinary locations.

Participating artists for 2011 are: Tonico Lemos Auad; Charles Avery; CAMP (Ashok Sukumaran & Shaina Anand); Martin Creed; Smadar Dreyfus; Latifa Echakhch; Hala Elkoussy; Ruth Ewan; Spencer Finch; Hamish Fulton; Cristina Iglesias; Nikolaj B S Larsen; Hew Locke; Cornelia Parker; Olivia Plender; Zineb Sedira; Erzen Shkololli; Strange Cargo; Paloma Varga Weisz.

New commissions (sculpture, installation, film/ video, sound pieces, performance):

22 in 2008, 19 in 2011.

Most outstanding projects from recent years:

2008 Triennial:
Mark Wallinger’s “Folk Stones”, a tribute to the British and Allied soldiers who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme; and Tracey Emin’s seven-part sculpture Baby Things, which was voted one of the 10 best public artworks in the UK by the Observer.

2011 Triennial:
Cornelia Parker’s Folkestone Mermaid, a bronze cast of a local resident in the pose of Copenhagen’s famous Little Mermaid; Cristina Iglesias’ walk-in sculpture on the ramparts of a 200-year-old Martello Tower; Hew Locke’s installation of 100 model ships collected from all over the world and suspended from the nave of St Mary & St Eanswythe’s church; Zineb Sedira’s multi-screen film about a famous Algerian lighthouse, to be screened in a large former storage hall built into the cliff.

The Folkestone Triennial recognises the need to engage with local people as well as national and international visitors and so provides numerous opportunities for the public to actively participate. As the town has no gallery or museum, the Triennial represents a “gallery without walls”, aiming to bring art of the highest calibre to the widest group of people. Residents and visitors alike are encouraged to develop an appreciation of art and the townÕs cultural achievements, and through this, a pride of place. The public programme therefore includes walking tours, events and mentoring.

The Folkestone Triennial’s aim is to maximise access to and enjoyment and understanding of contemporary art, ensuring that all who encounter it gain the greatest benefit from their experience. The Triennial wants to attract new visitors, regionally, nationally and internationally, and, over time, make Folkestone an international centre for publicly sited contemporary art.

The Folkestone Triennial has a permanent visitor centre located in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter. It provides information about the Folkestone Triennial’s permanent artworks, including maps and audio guides, as well as the opportunity to view archive copies of three of the films commissioned for the 2008 Folkestone Triennial by Langlands and Bell, Adam Chodzko and Patrick Tuttofucco. A reading area offers background information about different models of art in the public realm. The 2008 Folkestone Triennial catalogue “Tales of Time and Space” can be purchased at the Centre as well as books about the participating artists. There are plans to move into larger premises for the 2011 Triennial, in order to offer space for education workshops and displays, and expand the reading area into a substantial research resource. It is located at, 56–58 Old High Street CT20 1RN, phone +44 (0)1303 854080 and is open between 10 am–5 pm, Tuesday–Sunday.

The Triennial’s organising body, the Creative Foundation, is addressing Folkestone’s multiple social problems. Folkestone has undergone dramatic change over the past century, from well-to-do fishing port, flourishing resort and ferry port, to a deprived town with an aging population and a weak economy, which includes 40% unfit housing, high unemployment and teenage pregnancy rates and low educational attainment. The Foundation’s ambitious cultural regeneration programme – which includes a Norman Foster designed new Academy school, new University Centre and Theatre—aims to improve the life of its residents through art and education. The Triennial is its flagship.

The education and events programme for the second Folkestone Triennial will target and nurture sustainable relationships with often under-represented audiences, promoting inclusivity and equality. It is underpinned by three key objectives: communication, accessibility and capacity-building.

Tours: to increase audiences and access, tours will be extended to daily tours as well as weekend tours in 2011. The Triennial will also experiment with new ways to deliver walks, tailored towards specific audiences, including intergenerational groups, hard-to-reach youth groups and migrant communities, to develop an appreciation of contemporary art and pride of place. The tours will also draw participants into other Triennial activities.

Mentoring: the Mentoring Scheme will run parallel to the tours programme, training local University arts students and community group members, enabling them to design, market and lead their own tours during and after the Triennial. Students, residents and visitors will be the beneficiaries of this strand.

Artists-in-residence: in this new take on traditional artist-in-residence programmes, young people will be set a business challenge to organise their own Young People’s Gallery, having to take on the roles of artist, curator, PR/marketing, technician, designer and fundraiser. Led by Artist-Educators, the programme will enable access to experienced practitioners.

Symposium: the 2011 Triennial will include an international conference for the first time to expand on the artistic, political and intellectual themes of the exhibition. It will bring together Triennial artists, local key figures and international speakers.

To accompany Tales of Time and Space, a 120 page catalogue was produced with installation images of all works, an essay by Andrea Schlieker and texts by each participating artist. The publication was printed by Cambridge University Press, designed by GTF and is available from the Folkestone Triennial website. A similar publication will be published for 2011. The Education Programme is producing a Young People’s Guide, a down-loadable audio-guide and an online Teachers Pack.

The Folkestone Triennial takes place in several locations in the public realm, all across the town of Folkestone on the south coast of Kent. Sites for the 2011 Triennial include the ramparts of an overgrown Martello Tower; the outer harbour; an old deck-chair storage in the cliff face; a church; the old Orient Express train station; a Martello Tower on the East Cliff; St Eanswythe and St Mary’s Church (oldest building in Folkestone); and the Masonic Lodge. Folkestone is a seaside town of 40,000 inhabitants, situated in the Southeast of Britain.