Margate Reimagined
Uncharted Histories: A Journey to Now

In the 1960s, as Britain’s seaside towns fell out of favour, Margate Borough Council laid out an ambitious plan to rejuvenate the town by creating a brand new marina on the site of Margate Old Town. Using this abandoned scheme as a starting point, Margate Reimagined presents the town as it might have been, or could yet become.

Through a combination of walks, workshops, artworks, stories and architecture, Margate Reimagined is a present day vision of Margate with an alternative past.

An Exhibition at The Shop Front, 161 Northdown Road showing artifacts and text from the projects is accompanied by a walking tour as well as workshops and poetry.

Download the route here

The first workshop at Turner Contemporary included a brief questionnaire relating to future of Margate. Depending on their answers participants were then invited to build a model of a proposed monument for Margate Harbour.

For the second workshop we developed this theme into a more expansive re-development of Margate. The Regeneration Game is a playful way for participants to engage with urban renewal and town planning. Through successive rolls of the die the fate of Margate landmarks are decided and it is then for the players model the new plans as required.

Download the rules here

Project conceived by Dominic Rose and Jon Spencer. Photo credits Dominic Rose, Jon Spencer, Heather Tate.

February 8, 2020