Canterbury spouts nonsense, Herne Bay fountain of wisdom. Nobody surprised.

#FUCCC Our Council's Culture & Enterprise bureaucrats seem to think they know what Guardian readers are interested in (how?), but I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that Guardian journalists have a much clearer picture of what interests their readers.

In fact, they've already said that they'll be coming to Herne Bay to cover this summer's marvellous Duchamp Centenary celebrations... FOR THEIR READERS.​

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Arts festival will bring Guardian journalists to Herne Bay

Guardian readers may not be tempted by the town but the paper's reporters will be heading to Herne Bay this summer.

Staff from the art and travel section of the national newspaper are planning to cover the three-week festival dedicated to artist Marcel Duchamp and his links with the town, amid a storm over an advert that praised Whitstable and Canterbury but left out Herne Bay.

Tourism chiefs, who paid up to £10,000 for the full-page feature in the Guardian's travel section, say they were concentrating on the brands most likely to attract Guardian readers. But at a meeting organised by the team behind the August festival, they revealed the paper's journalists were looking forward to their visit.

The festival marks 100 years since Duchamp spent a month in Herne Bay, a period believed to be critical to his career. Volunteer Sue Austen, from Bayguide, which is behind the festival, said it could be a boost to the whole town. Southeastern trains have agreed to display posters on board. She said:

"It will hopefully encourage people to Herne Bay who have not been before. It will be covered by the Guardian arts section and Guardian travel section and is already listed in Coast magazine as one of the top things to do this summer."

Sue revealed both Kent County Council and Visit Kent had readily offered support, but said "conversations were ongoing" with Canterbury City Council, who have so far offered to waive the rent on the Kings Hall for a one-day conference to discuss the artist's work.

Steve Coombes, who stood in the KCC elections to raise awareness of the festival, added:

"Charlotte Higgins is the chief arts writer of the Guardian and we have been in enthusiastic communication about the Marcel Duchamp Centenary, by email and phone, since last October. The same is also true of the Times, Telegraph and BBC arts. Unlike the CCC dept of Culture and Enterprise, they were all thrilled by the idea."

Members of the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain are also planning to take part, after Ralph Steadman created a one-off design for a promotional poster. They will create cartoons for toilets, pubs and other places and there will also be quotes from Duchamp in unusual places around the town and themed window displays from shops.

David Cross, who will be curating the gallery shows, said:

"We would like to make it successful to show them that Herne Bay can be - and has got to be - equal to Whitstable and Canterbury."

Other events planned include an open exhibition at Beach House from July 11 and introducing Mr D at Herne Bay Museum from July 16. Invited artists will show their work at galleries around the town from July 23 and there will also be an art bike trail.

Children can take part in workshops and add their own designs to postcards for a pop-up gallery, and live music, street theatre and chess games are also planned.

Jason Hollingsworth, from Bayguide, said:

"There is a huge cultural legacy to this. There will be a trail and a plaque on the house where he stayed in Downs Park."

For more information on the festival, or to get involved as a volunteer, visit www.iamnotdead.co.uk

Canterbury Times 24th May 2013

Inspirational Herne Bay

Marcel Duchamp having a bit of a think

How Herne Bay reinvigorated a famous French artist

When influential French artist Marcel Duchamp arrived in Herne Bay, he was considering giving up art, but after four weeks in the town he returned to Europe full of new ideas.

His time in Herne Bay will be celebrated with a three-week festival starting at the end of July, featuring exhibitions, talks, and a schools programme in which Bay youngsters produce their own works of art to display. Organiser Sue Austen said:

"Marcel Duchamp has been voted the most influential artist of the 21st century but when he arrived in Herne Bay at the beginning of August 1913 he was just 26 and deeply depressed by the reception his last major painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, had received at the Armory Show in New York.

He was here to chaperone his sister Yvonne who was studying English at Lynton College. He contemplated giving up art forever, but after four short weeks Duchamp returned to Europe, refreshed and intellectually invigorated. Later that year he produced the first kinetic sculpture, Bicycle Wheel, published his ideas on objets trouvés and created the totally unique Three Standard Stoppages.

The art world reeled from his new ideas – our town often has this effect on people."

Sue, who together with Jason Hollingsworth make up the BayGuide team behind the festival, said the aim was to show that Herne Bay was still a special place.

An exhibition of work by invited local artists will be curated by David Cross and staged at Beach House, the Bay Art Gallery and the King's Hall, along with outdoor exhibitions and pop-up galleries.

There will also be a talk by Mike Bundock of Herne Bay Historical Records Society on what the town was like at the time, a sculpture trail curated by Karen Simpson and a symposium at the King's Hall curated by Duchamp expert Francis M Naumann.

For more information visit iamnotdead.co.uk or their Facebook site. The team will also tweet from @Duchamp_HB

Herne Bay Beach Hut Day

Herne Bay famous faces John Altman and Nicki Chapman had a stiff challenge on their hands as guest judges at the annual beach hut competition. A fiercely contested event saw owners get right into the festival spirit with an array of colourful designs and themes for their huts.

Former EastEnders star John and TV personality Nicki were joined by Jenny and David Cross from the Friends of the Herne Bay Museum in the judging as the number of entries exceeded expectations. Organiser Andrew Cook was overwhelmed with the response:

“The sun came out to shine and many hut owners frantically dressed theirs in time for judging. Competition was fierce and the quality was higher than ever before, some owners came from as far away as Yorkshire to enter. We had to give out some additional prizes to make the judges’ lives a bit easier. Jill Bell eventually took the honours for best dressed hut with her Mrs Sweeney Todd theme. It was great to have both Nicki and John there as they are firm believers of what Herne Bay has to offer and the town’s future potential.”

Kentish Gazette 16th Aug 2011

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Click here for the Beach Hut Day photo gallery

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'New regime' clashes with Pier Trust

Museum bosses tore down a poster promoting Herne Bay Pier Trust, despite the fact that the latest exhibition is dedicated to the iconic seaside structure. Despite protests from staff at the William Street museum, managers insisted the poster had to be removed because it did not fit in with the council's corporate branding.

Pier trust members who complained were told the poster had been put in the wrong place. Trust chairman Julian Jennings said:

"It's bureaucracy gone mad. I don't think the staff knew there was a right and wrong place for posters, so they were not happy when it was taken down. But it's now been put up in the right place, so we hope everyone is happy."

The row is the latest in a series of grumbles since the museum shop was taken over by the council's visitor services team in a bid to make more money. Staff now wear Canterbury-branded uniforms, and city-branded leaflets are on display around the museum. Visitors who do not have a residents' card issued by the council must also pay to enter the exhibitions, after a review initially recommended shutting the museum.

David Cross, secretary of the Friends of the Museum, said:

"There is a completely new regime in charge of the museum and they are still trying things out. They are aware they will get things wrong, and have done so, and we the Friends are concerned about that. But we are confident we will arrive together at the right conclusion."

Council spokesman Steve James added:

"We've always been very supportive of the Pier Trust and its work in the community, and only removed the posters from the Herne Bay Museum as part of a general tidy-up of the building entrance. But after being contacted by a trust member, we agreed to put the posters back, and these posters will complement trust leaflets which are always on display. No offence was intended, and we hope that we can continue to display trust posters in a co-ordinated manner. We're proud that Herne Bay Museum and Gallery forms an integral part of the community, and we always respond positively to feedback supplied by local residents."

HB Times 15th Jul 2011