Art Exhibition: Veteran UK Broadcaster David Dimbleby Guest Curates Major Autumn Art Exhibition at Towner Eastbourne with Daughter Liza

Many of us likely recall how we spent our time during the long months of lockdown in the UK, when the Covid pandemic deeply affected our lives. Personally, I turned to cooking, sharing food and recipes with my home-bound family.

For one particular father and daughter, however, it was a time to communicate not merely through words, but through drawing. This creative way of sharing thoughts and visuals has led to a new exhibition this autumn at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Andrzej Jackowski

Titled Drawing the Unspeakable, the exhibition is co-curated by veteran journalist and broadcaster David Dimbleby, who, alongside his artist daughter Liza, presents a collection of 300 works. The exhibition marks Dimbleby’s final contribution as Towner’s Chair, a role he’s held for a decade, before stepping down in September 2024. It's also been reported that Dimbleby will take up new role as the Towner's first ever President.

David Dimbleby said, "Co-curating this exhibition has been an exhilarating experience.  Liza has always been my companion and guide through the world of art."

"I like drawings that have a narrative, but are kind of mysterious.  You can put your own interpretation on them and the longer you look at them, the more you see in them.  So, they're not obvious drawings of the unspeakable, they're unspeakable because they don't speak directly with one."

Liza Dimbleby said it has taken nine months to put together the collection, with much of the time visiting the studios of around 40 living artists.  

"During the lockdown, we would communicate by exchanging drawings by email, one per day," said Liza.  

LS Lowry

Running from October 5th to April 27th, 2025, the show explores the unique conversations the father and daughter shared during lockdown—conversations in which drawing became their language, surpassing the limitations of words to express complex emotions and ideas. 

Joe Hill,Director a nd chief executive of the Towner concurred that drawing is powerful and that there are not enough shows that focus primarily on drawings.  

John Davies

Leon Kossoff

The exhibition features works by more than 90 artists, including Tracey Emin, Emma Talbot, David Hockney, Paula Rego, LS Lowry, Barbara Hepworth, Louise Bourgeois, Andrzej Jackowski, and Leon Kossoff, to name but a few, as well as by the Dimblebys themselves.  The drawings are drawn both from the Towner Collection and from other Collections such as the Ben Uri Gallery, Bethlem Museum of the Mind, British Museum, Ingram Art Foundation, Jerwood Foundation, Pallant House, Ruth Borchard Collection, The Lowry, ad Vaclav Havel Public Library, Paris.   There is also a display of artworks by Ray Ward featuring repurposed milk bottles and cartons, each with a special message.

 Paula Rego

Tracey Emin

The artworks address a wide range of human experiences and emotions, covering themes such as war, disaster, destruction, illness, and loss, as well as family, birth, love, and dreams. Complementing the art is a written dialogue between Dimbleby and Liza, reflecting their contrasting perspectives as a journalist and an artist. 

Some of these conversations - written dialogues of their respective viewpoints - are projected onto large scrolls that hang from the ceilings of two of the rooms in Gallery 2 and 3.  The exhibition take up the entire top floor gallery of the Towner. 

For visitors, the exhibition may evoke personal memories and past experiences, offering plenty of material for meaningful conversations and discussions.  Towner CEO Joe Hill said the thought provoking exhibition will encourage their audiences to look again at the drawings in the gallery's collection, through David and Liza's unique lens.

The exhibition takes place from October 5th 2024 to April 27th 2025 at the Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, UK.

Photos by Lucia Carpio