Hasta La Ideas

UK charity Art Fund has released photos of filmmaker Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, England as part of its fundraising campaign to prevent the renowned house and garden from being sold.

Art Fund’s campaign is seeking £3.5 million to save the deceased filmmaker and gardener’s former home for the public.

If the money is not raised by the 31 March 2020 deadline, the property will be offered for sale to a private individual on the open market.

Jarman was a filmmaker, artist and activist, who died in 1994 of complications arising from the Aids virus.

He moved to the Kent coast following his diagnosis and created a world-renowned house and shingle garden in the shadow of the nuclear power station.

“Prospect Cottage is a living, breathing work of art, filled with the creative impulse of Derek Jarman at every turn,” said Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar.

“It’s imperative we come together to save the Cottage, its contents and its extraordinary garden as a source of creative inspiration for everyone.”

Deuchar announced the campaign launch with a series of rewards from celebrated artist supporters that members of the public receive if they donate a particular sum.

Pledges start at £5 with funders who spend £100 will receiving a colourful A4 print of the cottage by Michael Craig-Martin.

Artist Wolfgang Tillmans has offered signed prints of an agave plant that features an extract of a John Doone poem that can be found on the cottage’s wall, for £650.

The most expensive pledge at £3,000 is for a private tour of gardener Dan Pearson’s own garden in Somerset, England.

Major grants have come from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, the Linbury Trust, and private donations, with the remaining funds being raised by the general public.

If successful, the money will cover the cost of the property itself and its upkeep through a permanently funded programme, ensuring it can remain open and free to the public.

At the time of writing, 51 per cent of the overall target has been reached, with 63 days to go.

The managing partnership of the Art Fund, Creative Folkestone and Tate intend to establish artist residencies as well as providing guided visits.

Jarman’s archive from the cottage, including his sketchbooks and plans for the garden, will be made available for public access at Tate Britain.

The cottage is being sold following the death in 2018 of Keith Collins, Jarman’s close companion in his final years, who he left the cottage to when he died.

Recently, several holiday homes on the beach in Dungeness have been designed by architects, including Pobble House and Pump Station.

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