Devonshire Collective

10 years of creativity. 10 years of community! 🙌 Today, we’re beginning our #DC10 celebrations as we enter our 10th year! In the year ahead, we are planning our most ambitious artistic and community programme yet, and have big organisational plans to develop, grow and thrive for the next ten. To do so, we are launching a £150k development campaign. We are delighted to have received initial pledges of £19k already. Can you help us reach our target? Please follow the link in our bio! #DevonshireCollective #DC10 #EastbourneArts

Visiting us at VOLT? 🎨 Our work at DC is informed by the Social Model of Disability. The Social Model of Disability was developed by Disabled people, and states that people are disabled only by society’s attitudinal, physical, environmental and or information/communication barriers, which leads to the less favourable treatment, or exclusion of, an individual living with impairment(s) or long term health condition(s). If society was set up in a way that was accessible, then Disabled people would not be excluded or restricted. Key Features at VOLT: 🏢 Physical Access: Our street-level gallery spans two floors, connected by a lift to the basement, where you’ll find a gender-neutral, accessible toilet. Fold-out chairs are available on both levels for your comfort. 🐕‍🦺 Assistance for Visitors: Assistance dogs are welcome, with water bowls provided near the entrance. Well-behaved dogs on leads are also permitted. 🎒 Sensory Support: We offer sensory bags at the entrance, containing items like ear defenders, fidget toys, and worry stones.. Large print and translated exhibition information is displayed at the front of the gallery. 👋 Staff Training: Our gallery team includes members with introductory BSL training, and some are Dementia Friends. Planning Your Visit: 📍 Location: VOLT, 67–69 Seaside Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3PL. 🕚🕔 Opening Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 12noon–5pm. 🆓 Admission: All exhibitions are free to attend. Getting Here: 🚌 By Bus: Multiple bus routes stop near VOLT, approximately a 2-minute walk away. 🚆 By Train: Eastbourne Station is about a 10-minute walk from VOLT, with regular services from London and surrounding areas. 🚲By Bike: Bike racks are available on Terminus Road, a short walk from the gallery. 🚗 By Car: The nearest NCP car park is at Trinity Place, BN21 3BZ, a 5-minute walk to VOLT. Disabled parking spaces are available on Seaside Road. For more detailed information or specific access needs, please visit our website, or contact our Programme Manager, at [email protected].  We look forward to welcoming you! #access #volt #eastbourne

Join us for a two part workshop designed by artist Tom Pope taking inspiration from local pub games 🎯 🗓️ 29 & 30 May 2026, 12 - 3pm You are invited to join The East Sussex Association of Play (ESAP) a newly formed research group, founded by Tom Pope for East Sussex with one rule: there are no boundaries on where the play might take the association. Through field trips, research and development sessions, play is embraced and interrogated in all its forms. Launching within The Thinking Hand exhibition ESAP will hold its first gathering: In the first session on Friday 29th May 2026, the group will explore the area surrounding the gallery to experience first-hand local pub games. During the second session, Saturday 30th May 2026, the group will experiment and develop a new pub game together for Eastbourne. You are welcome to sign up for both days, or for one. Email [email protected] to register your interest and to find out more. This is a free, informal and social event. Refreshments will be provided. No prior knowledge of pub games is required.

The Thinking Hand is now open ✨ We are really excited to share, play, record, make, write and do together in this new process-led exhibition by artists Tanvi Kant, Richard Phoenix, Tom Pope and Anne-Marie Watson. The project will gently unfold through participation and exchange, engaging with our neighbourhood and local communities, turning Devonshire Collective’s gallery into a site of shared making. 🎤 Join us this Saturday 16th May 2026, 3-5pm, for the first public gathering and performance by Richard Phoenix, Jessica Ashman and Tanya Auclair! 🔸Free, drop-in, hang out 📌 How to Get Involved There are multiple ways to participate and interact with the work throughout the exhibition. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, 12–5pm. Programmed activities will be listed in advance, alongside quieter times for more relaxed engagement. A celebration sharing event will take place on Wednesday 10 June 2026, 3 - 7pm. To book a session for a group, please email [email protected]. Image credits: (1) Richard Phoenix (2) Tanvi Kant (3) Anne-Marie Watson (4) Tom Pope, ‘Last Day at Snooker City, Bristol’, 2025, 2026 hung to dartboard with dart with custom made flight @richardjphoenix @tanvikant @annemariesrevolutions @tom__pope

Tomorrow at VOLT! Join us for @frisbee.music debut performance Friday 8th of May 2026, 6-7pm 🎟️ Spaces are limited, RSVP to [email protected] Frisbee are a local duo made up of Corey Dickson and Kye Waterman. They draw on their experiences and surroundings to write and compose their own music. Frisbee have imbedded vintage samples with modern aspects. Using a collage of genres has formed a core aspect of their identity and sound. They will combine sunny sounds with raw lyrics. Expect an honest and experimental performance as your introduction to @frisbee.music 🔊

The Thinking Hand 13 May - 20 June 2026 Tanvi Kant is an interdisciplinary artist exploring embodied memory through playful, tactile engagement with materials. For The Thinking Hand, raw materials hang from the ceiling, ready to be foraged, handled and remade. During the exhibition, the Devonshire Collective team will learn tea-making, developing a new blend shaped by visitors and local edible plants in collaboration with Rooted Community Food. Tanvi will host a series of gatherings in the space. The Thinking Hand is a process-led exhibition by artists Tanvi Kant, Richard Phoenix, Tom Pope and Anne-Marie Watson. The project unfolds through participation and exchange, engaging with our neighbourhood and local communities, turning Devonshire Collective’s gallery into a site of shared making.

The Thinking Hand 13 May - 20 June 2026 Tom Pope works across performance and photography, with play at the core of his practice. It operates both as a subject within his works and as a method, shaping how he engages with and utilises the photographic medium. In The Thinking Hand, Pope turns his attention to the pub games found along Seaside Road, using them as a point of entry into shared, everyday rituals of leisure and interaction. You are invited to participate in the East Sussex Association of Play, a newly formed research group that sits between art and the social, foregrounding play as a mode of collective inquiry. The Thinking Hand is a process-led exhibition by artists Tanvi Kant, Richard Phoenix, Tom Pope and Anne-Marie Watson. The project unfolds through participation and exchange, engaging with our neighbourhood and local communities, turning Devonshire Collective’s gallery into a site of shared making.

The Thinking Hand 13 May - 20 June 2026 Anne-Marie Watson creates handwritten, flowing text drawings that transform words into intimate, abstract forms. Working between language and image, Anne-Marie’s practice traces thought as it moves. Alongside her drawings, a new sound installation and writing station will reside in the space for you to take part, reflect, and create with words. During the exhibition, Anne-Marie will be in residence for one week, drawing, writing, and gently inviting you to explore what feels most meaningful, through the simple act of putting words on a page. The Thinking Hand is a process-led exhibition by artists Tanvi Kant, Richard Phoenix, Tom Pope and Anne-Marie Watson. The project unfolds through participation and exchange, engaging with our neighbourhood and local communities, turning Devonshire Collective’s gallery into a site of shared making. Find out more on our website ✨ Image credit: (2) at ease (detail), Anne-Marie Watson

The Thinking Hand 13 May - 20 June 2026 Richard Phoenix works across painting, arts facilitation, DIY music, and supported studio practice, grounded in a belief in open, unobserved space. His work moves through shifting rhythms to reach the “shimmer” - a state of flow where time bends, worlds overlap and sound leads. During the exhibition, Richard and the Devonshire Collective team invite you to play records, use the drums, bring instruments, and - if you like - record what unfolds.. The Thinking Hand is a process-led exhibition by artists Tanvi Kant, Richard Phoenix, Tom Pope and Anne-Marie Watson. The project unfolds through participation and exchange, engaging with our neighbourhood and local communities, turning Devonshire Collective’s gallery into a site of shared making. Image Credit: (1) Photo by Jorge Stride

📣 EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT The Thinking Hand 13 May - 20 June 2026 The Thinking Hand is a process-led exhibition by artists Tanvi Kant, Richard Phoenix, Tom Pope and Anne-Marie Watson. The project unfolds through participation and exchange, engaging with our neighbourhood and local communities, turning Devonshire Collective’s gallery into a site of shared making. The “thinking hand” refers to a form of knowledge that emerges through doing. Drawing, repeating, playing, assembling, drumming, making, writing and listening are some of the ways you will be invited into flow and experimentation through hands-on activity. 📌How to Get Involved There are multiple ways to participate and interact with the work throughout the exhibition. Visitors are invited to take part at their own pace, contributing traces rather than fixed outcomes as the project continues. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, 12–5pm. Programmed activities will be listed in advance, alongside quieter times for more relaxed engagement. 🗓️ A celebration sharing event will take place on Wednesday 10 June 2026, 3 - 7pm. To book a session for a group, please email [email protected]. Find out more about the artists over the coming days 👀 @tanvikant @richardjphoenix @tom__pope @annemariesrevolutions

📣 We are excited to announce @frisbee.music as the second recipients of a Devonshire Collective micro-grant to support the development of new work. Join us for their upcoming debut performance on Friday 8th of May 2026, 6-7pm 🎟️ Spaces are limited, RSVP to [email protected] Frisbee are a local duo made up of Corey Dickson and Kye Waterman. They draw on their experiences and surroundings to write and compose their own music. Frisbee have imbedded vintage samples with modern aspects. Using a collage of genres has formed a core aspect of their identity and sound. They will combine sunny sounds with raw lyrics. Expect an honest and experimental performance as your introduction to @frisbee.music 🔊

This week we worked in partnership with Vocal Eyes, a charity that enhances access to arts and culture for blind and visually impaired people. DLWP hosted and took part in Describing Heritage, a two day #training programme in co-curation, funded by @heritagefunduk Museum professionals were each asked to bring along an item from their collection and work together with local blind and visually impaired people to record a description. The aim of Describing Heritage is to build a library of co-curated audio-descriptions which will sit on the Vocal Eyes website as a resource. It was great to be joined by colleagues from @hastings_museum , the @devonshirecollective , @bexhill_museum , @charlestontrust and the Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society along with sound artist @ma.hooper1 , all pictured here, with the fabulous trainers Lonny Evans and Terry James. We’re only sorry that our blind and visually-impaired colleague left before we could grab them for the photo! Thank you for the opportunity @vocaleyesaudiodescription