Last Night at the Bingo

Margate NOW is an ambitious and dynamic festival of art, events and performances. This year, in response to Turner Prize 2019 at Turner Contemporary the programme runs from 28 September 2019 - 12 January 2020. It has been developed by Turner Contemporary, Margate Festival, Open School East, 1927, Resort, Crate, Limbo, Dreamland Margate, Kent County Council and Kent Libraries, Thanet District Council and locally based artists. It is supported by Arts Council England through National Lottery funding, as well as contributions from Kent County Council, Thanet District Council and Dreamland Margate. Turner Prize 2019 is organised in collaboration with Tate. \n \nIn the month of the closure of Beacon Bingo (March 2019), Leigh considered the significance of the 35-year-old venue and the impact of its demise. The bingo hall was a place to gather and make friends; it was indeed a beacon light for a community, offering sanctuary and reverie. Much emphasis is placed on Margate’s dramatic seascape as a vista for reflection and hope, but for some, the Beacon instead was this. \n \nThe Last Night at the Bingo used gleaned tickets from the final games at the last night at Beacon. Scanned and reproduced as outsized, wind-proof prints, punctuated Margate in various sites in the town. Pump Lane Yard, with a bespoke construction by L&G, provided the main site for the installation; a performance space and venue for the festival. \n \nThis work celebrates local concerns yet broadcasts a much wider question about the loss of community venues in austerity Britain. \n \nTwo limited edition screenprints were made for the turner Contemporary Shop during the event. \n \nA limited edition screen print and litho print was made for the Art Car Boot Fair Margate. \n \nA Drawing Bingo workshop was led by Leigh as part of TAKEOVER at the Turner Contemporary.