Turner Contemporary

Based in Margate, Turner Contemporary is a dynamic visual arts organisation that presents a wide range of exhibitions and learning opportunities to promote the understanding and enjoyment of visual art. Through an exciting programme, and the development of a major new gallery, Turner Contemporary in Margate is at the forefront of ambitious plans to revitalise one of the country's oldest seaside resorts. The prospect of a major new gallery is already attracting new investments, businesses and residents to the area

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Recent project: Time of our Lives

What is it like to be a teenager today? Is it different to teenage experiences in the past? Through the project Time of Our Lives, Turner Contemporary worked with BBC Radio Kent, the University of Kent's School of Engineering and Digital Arts, Kent County Council's Youth Arts Service and local young and older people to explore these questions.

Today in the UK, suspicion of young people seems to have reached a peak, with a survey of 2000 adults by Barnardo's exposing that 49% regard children as increasingly dangerous and 54% believing that young people are "beginning to behave like animals". These views sit uncomfortably with the fact that teenagers are more likely to do voluntary work than people from any other generation, with two thirds of those aged 10-15 raising money for charity.

By bringing older and younger people together to explore their own experiences of being a teenager, Time of Our Lives aimed to encourage personal connections and genuine reflection between people from different generations.

The project has enabled local people aged 13 to 25 and 60 and over to work together to create artwork, gather and write stories, develop new skills and meet new people. They worked with a journalist from BBC Radio Kent to learn how to interview people and use sound recordings, and also spent time with final year students studying Multimedia Technology and Design at the University of Kent who created a digital teenage archive.

An exhibition celebrating the achievements of everyone involved in this intergenerational project was held 3-28 March 2010 at Droit House, Margate. The exhibition featured art works created by participants, including their 'interactive teenage bedroom' created with the University of Kent.

The Time of Our Lives website, Interactive Teenage Bedroom, UKC documentaries, and project summery video are all available on the resources page