Art-led regeneration in Margate: Learning from Moonbow Jakes Café and Lido Nightclub intervention

This article considers whether a new iconic landmark – the Turner Contemporary – is likely to be a successful vehicle for the regeneration of the English seaside town of Margate in Kent. It does so by looking at the socio-economic context of Margate, the evidence about top-down models of art-led regeneration, and the data collected in a bottom up arts initiative – Moonbow Jakes Café and Lido Nightclub intervention – which was opened at the same time as the Turner Contemporary in the Summer of 2011.