Liz Gilmore, the Director of Hastings Contemporary, is stepping down from her role after 14 years to become CEO of The Sherborne, a new landmark gallery and arts space in Dorset.
Liz, who was the founding Director of Jerwood Gallery – which then became Hastings Contemporary – is one of the most respected figures in the UK art world. She has played a key role in the regeneration of Hastings as a visitor destination and thriving creative community.
She will take up her new role in March 2025, so the process of recruiting a new Hastings Director before Liz steps down at the end of February is now getting underway, with details appearing on our website soon.
Liz says: “It has been a huge honour to lead the gallery and its development to this point, including the responsibility of becoming a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England. Hastings is a very special place, a hotspot of creativity and will always remain close to my heart.
I want to express my deepest appreciation to staff, volunteers and the many partners who have shared the journey. It has been a real privilege to bring works from all over the world to Hastings and to witness so many people exploring art through our exhibitions, learning and community programmes. And there is so much to look forward to, with the astonishing talents of artists Sophie Barber and Isabel Rock on display this autumn.”
Gilmore is recognised for championing women and underrepresented artists and for her vision and innovation. She spearheaded the venue’s inaugural show, Rose Wylie’s Big Boys Sit in the Front (2012) which represented the 76-year old’s first major institutional exhibition, leading to her subsequent debut at Tate and The Serpentine. Other exhibitions developed under her leadership include The Chapman brothers – Jake and Dinos Chapman’s In the Realm of the Unmentionable (2014-15) which was nominated for a Museums & Heritage Award; Paula Rego’s The Boy Who Loved the Sea and Other Stories (2017) (nominated for a Sky Arts Award); Victor Willing’s Visions, (2019); Barbara Walker’s Vanishing Point (2018-19) and Project Art Works’ Ignition residency (2021) with both going on to be nominated for the Turner Prize. Recent high-profile exhibitions include Soutine | Kossoff (2023), Nengi Omuku, The Dance of the People and the Natural World and Hurvin Anderson, Salon Paintings (both 2023/24).
Gilmore has an established reputation for innovation with Hastings Contemporary playing a key role in the South East tourism initiative, the Coastal Culture Trail and being the first gallery to offer robot tours and licenced to tattoo. Henry Krokatsis’ Kabin (2018) hosted the first fully functioning sauna in a public gallery and with Lakwena Maciver’s Jump (2022) the gallery was transformed into a basketball court.
The Chair of Hastings Contemporary, Andrew Corbett-Nolan, said “We have been deeply privileged to have someone of Liz’s calibre and ambition leading the gallery for more than a decade. She has made such a difference both to ways of seeing and encountering art and to the town and wider region. She has brought art and people together in new and exciting ways and more than fulfilled our ambitions for the gallery and its impact. We shall miss her enormously but wish her well in all that she does in the future.”