Hastings Contemporary

Pleasant viewing environment; nice café, too.

This gallery is small but beautifully designed inside and out with lots of different spaces currently exhibiting 3 very different artists.
It’s the kind of gallery where you pay because want to see the work so always check for what is on.

Attractive views from the cafe which was empty on a cold November lunchtime.. Pleasant staff. The soup was tasty but not a lot if it for the price. The flan looked nice and was similarly tasty, but with a rock hard base. My friend had a members card so didn't have to pay to go into the exhibitions which were OK.

Exhibition mostly good.Quentin Blake a legend.
The Cafe lets it down. High prices no atmosphere and the male staff member not interested in explaining about the coffees or food available. So we went to the pub opposite. Better value.

Friendly staff.
Helpful guides in each section.
Even the paintings which I did not like were interesting.
The restaurant was good with wonderful views of the cliff and the harbour arm.( I have the subject for a new painting).

A valuable community asset, if perhaps sometimes primarily for its cafe, whose balcony gives an overview of the working beach and, when we visited, the Green Man newly-goth-steampunk morris dancing. The art then on offer was of limited interest: spadefuls of gloomy oil paint, asymmetrical portaits etc. Another time, greater lively uplift, I hope!

We happened across this on one of the 'fun' days by chance, we frequently visit Hastings but hadn't been in before. The fun day was certainly that! My two kiddies had a blast and do did I! We did ribbon dancing in a beautiful multicoloured rainbow installation, we made self portrait posters inspired by the artists work and also drew self portraits and hung them in a gallery. The gallery is smallish, but, it is full of high quality art an amazing gift shop and if you're lucky enough to be there for a fun day make sure you join in too with all the activities!

Okay, smallish gallery of contemporary art on the Hastings seafront. The building is more impressive than the art therein, and you'd be hard-pressed to spend more than 1 hour exploring the small exhibitions. Had I known how little there is to see in advance, I would have spent my money on something else. That said, during my visit there was an interesting temporary exhibit on different perspectives on life and tourism on the sea, with (mostly early to mid 20th century) paintings, old ads and photographs. Well put together, unfortunately I could not take photos (I loathe that). About 40-50 minutes worth of one's time. The rest? Not much. There's an art studio where "art" is being created on the premises (totally forgettable), a nice café on the upper level, and a decent museum (book)shop. All in all, underwhelming. I've been to countless regional arts galleries all over the UK in recent years, this was one of the most disappointing experiences.