The gallery is managed by the Culture & Creative Industries team and is offered as an affordable resource to local arts organisations whose work engages with the city or its residents.

The gallery is usually offered for a period of 1-2 months, and an exhibition will usually correspond to other events or activities within the city (e.g. Pride celebrations).

The Culture & Creative Industries team will work with an organisation to find an appropriate period to host their exhibition. There is a small administrative hire fee to use the gallery, negotiated on a case -by-case basis according to time and duration of the exhibition.

Display and Installation

• The gallery consists of 9 square gabion units, providing 36 display ‘sides’ for 2D visual artworks.
• The display area for each side is 900mmx900mm.
• Those using the gallery should occupy all 36 sides, leaving no blank facings. This can include information boards or text panels providing the details of the exhibition or organisation.
• Artworks should be printed on weatherproof material that will withstand display in a seafront location. This is recommended to be dibond aluminium. These prints are likely to remain usable at other locations after display.
• Wooden backing boards provide a stable base to attach artworks to the gabions with screw and caps, or cable ties can be used to secure to the mesh framework.
• Any installation method is acceptable as long as it does not damage the fabric of the gabions and returns them to their original condition after the exhibition concludes.
• Users of the gallery are responsible for the installation and removal of their exhibition, which will be coordinated with the Culture & Creative Industries and Seafront teams at the City Council.
• The City Council maintain the seafront and the gallery falls under its usually security and maintenance arrangements, however it cannot take on any formal liability for the artworks on display. The council is therefore not responsible for any damage caused by weather or vandalism. We will of course do everything possible to facilitate a successful exhibition.

Limitations

The City Council is not able to supply funding to support the printing or production of artworks for display in the seafront gallery. Exhibitions should be funded by the user, although the Culture & Creative Industries team is happy to provide values of hire for the gallery to be included in funding bids.

Artworks displayed in the gallery must not be party political or religious in nature, or feature explicit nudity, representations of violence or other material unsuitable for display in an open public space. The seafront is used by all ages and demographics year-round and prospective exhibitions should be aware of this context.

The Culture & Creative Industries team will review all proposals considering these stipulations and reserves the right to ask that individual works are not included in an exhibition. A preview of images to be displayed must be sent to the Culture & Creative Industries team at least 20 working days before the agreed date for installation.

A Brighton & Hove City Council logo and acknowledgement of support should be included on the exhibition information.

Printing

The Culture & Creative Industries team are happy to provide contact details for printing services who will be able to provide a quote for producing artworks to the appropriate size and specification.

Application

To apply to use the seafront gallery please complete the below information and email it within the body of your email to arts@brighton-hove.gov.uk

• Name of Project
• Brief Description of Content
• Preferred Dates (please indicate a preferred time period, e.g. Sept-Dec 2025)
• Partners (arts organisations, community groups, etc)
• Connection to the City (alignment to festival, celebration, heritage or civic event)
• Funding (Arts Council England, community group investment, etc). Please indicate if this funding is secured or pending.

The Culture & Creative Industries team will assess all applications and consider the balance of submissions against the available schedule. We are not able to guarantee that a request will be able to be accommodated at a specific time, particularly during a busy or desirable period (e.g. May).

If able to be accommodated the Culture & Creative Industries team will confirm dates, an appropriate administration and hire fee and installtion processes via email.

If a scheduled exhibition is not able to be installed, then the Culture & Creative Industries team may arrange for an alternative exhibition and the booking will be lost. Should an exhibition not be removed by an agreed date then the council may remove and take possession of the artworks, with staff time recharged to the organiser and needing to be settled before artworks are returned.

Marketing Collaboration

Marketing and communications should be coordinated with the Culture & Creative Industries team, allowing the exhibitions on the gallery to reach as many people as possible and publicise the work being done to engage residents and local arts organisations.