Our Work Margate Festival

Across 2016 and 2017, the festival presented work from more than 280 artists through exhibitions, installations, performances, workshops and public realm interventions. The programme championed Margate’s creative community, supporting new commissions, emerging practitioners and year-round professional development.

Partnerships were central to the festival’s success, with smart resourcing and joint programming strengthening links with Margate Bookie, Margate Soul Festival, Ramsgate Festival, Marine Studios and other grassroots organisations.

Highlights included full-capacity evening events, a month-long festival trail, site-specific installations in heritage spaces, and participatory projects that brought residents, visitors and creative practitioners together. For many artists, the festival acted as a launchpad that supported new collaborations, further commissions and ongoing work across Kent and beyond.

The festival attracted a diverse audience of residents, day visitors and overnight visitors from across Kent, London and international locations. Audiences were predominantly aged 25 to 39, with strong engagement from both the local creative community and culturally active visitors.

More than half of all attendees travelled into Margate for the festival, and a significant number cited it as their main reason for visiting the town. Involving volunteers, community groups, families, young people and first-time arts attendees, the programme created accessible pathways into culture. Workshops, CPD sessions, open studios and participatory events strengthened relationships with artists and supported skills development.

The festival’s close work with local stakeholders and partners helped grow cultural participation across the town and built lasting connections within Margate’s creative ecology.

Across the two editions, the festival welcomed more than 63,000 visitors, with 151 artists involved in 2016 and 130 artists in 2017. Audience feedback was consistently strong, with over 95 percent of residents and 91 percent of inbound visitors rating their experience as good or very good.

More than 80 percent of visitors said the festival made them more likely to attend cultural events in the future, and a significant proportion of day visitors came to Margate specifically for the festival. Digital engagement grew year on year, with a combined 13,600 website hits, sustained social media growth and visitors accessing information from more than 70 countries.

The festival generated a combined economic contribution of more than £978,000, driven by increased local spend, cultural tourism and overnight stays. Over 400 volunteer hours supported delivery in 2016, and dozens of artists reported new commissions, collaborations and professional opportunities as a result of their involvement.