The best way to explore Folkestone’s urban, open-air art gallery

Sophy Grimshaw takes a walk through the artworks of this historic Kent seaside town ahead of its 2021 triennial

Part of the ‘Holiday Home’ installation in Folkestone (Thierry Bal)

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens. It’s a Talking Heads lyric, and also the wording on an outsized, illuminated-text artwork by Nathan Coley, towering over pedestrians on Folkestone’s Tontine Street. Created in 2008 for the inauguration of the Folkestone Triennial, it references the ennui of British seaside resorts, and their traditions of convalescence and summer idleness.

Established contemporary artists who have created work for and about Folkestone include Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Cornelia Parker, David Shrigley and Yoko Ono, among tens of others. Folkestone Triennial populates this east Kent seaside town with new works – most temporary, some permanent – with every edition. Folkestone Artworks is the permanent works collection, which can be viewed year-round, and is the UK’s largest urban outdoor contemporary art exhibition. It’s soon set to grow further: a new edition of the Folkestone Triennial will open in 2021, running from July until November, having been postponed in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Folkestone’s answer to the Little Mermaid (Creative Folkestone)