For Dover Arts Development, Dover is central. Dover may be on the periphery of England and the most iconic border between England and Europe, but the centre or centrality of Dover in relation to its identity is key to the philosophical perspective of DAD.

If identity of place is determined by where it is not, as much as where it is, Dover’s position is constantly looking out towards Europe and back towards England. This, in turn, is reflected in the diversity and transience of the town’s population – some constant and rooted in Dover’s cultural history and others rooted (or up rooted) in histories of other places – a kind of entropy – a term the artist Robert Smithson adapted from thermodynamics where it is the event of a hotter (or colder) fluid being added to its other – in cultural terms, this must mean that neither native nor incomer can claim identity that is exclusive of the other. Another Smithson artistic term could be useful here – site/non-site – in this scheme the site that is represented is encountered in the non-site of its representation – a picture is the non-site of the site that it depicts.

Could there be a cultural equivalent in DAD’s Dover – what form might this take in the constantly folding and re-folding between England and Europe? DAD’s commissions are concerned with finding and exploring the possibilities of such forms, all of which may seem to resonate a sense of place. (Adrian Lovis)

Project Legacies

For his 2022 DAD FILM Ewan Golder uses footage from films and video documentation of a variety of Dover Arts Development projects to create an exciting and immersive 28 minute experience.

A directory of local Kentish craftspeople that artists working on projects in the area can call upon.

The DAD Artists at Home strand of the What Next? project supported DAD’s community of contributors during the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, by providing digital outlets and promotion for their work and aiding further connections between artists and projects.

Nicolas Deshayes invites Sophie von Hellermann to Dover

I moved to Dover two years ago, and discovered almost immediately, and quite surprisingly, that I feel right at home here.

Clare Smith's 'Watercress and Daffodils'  explores the parallels between the structural laying bare of Russell Gardens as it is about to undergo a major restoration project as part of Dover District Council’s Kearsney Parks project and the revelation of a personal story connected to Kearsney Court Gardens, of which Russell Gardens was once an integral part.

Alma Tischlerwood’s sculpture 'ALICE' is a new social and sensory place in Kearsney Abbey.

US3 is a collaboration between artists Helen Lindon, Clare Smith and Joanna Jones. They met each other during the early days of Dover Arts Development (DAD) and the evolving art landscape of Dover and Folkestone.

A pocket sized guide with tips for artists and local authorities on working together.

From each park bench in Kearsney Abbey and Russell Gardens in Dover there is a different view – equally from each park bench each person’s view will be different as they daydream, remember or become lost in the landscape.