Sussex artist creates a ‘culture map’ of the county launched at the London Art Fair

Drawn by Sussex artist Helen Cann, the map was launched at London Art Fair in Islington on January 17 where all 1000 copies were quickly scooped up. The next edition will be given out free to all subscribers to Sussex’ arts magazine ROSA (Review of Sussex Arts, www.rosamagazine.co.uk) on March 1.

Helen Cann is an illustrator and artist from Brighton who specialises in making maps but also draws and paints. Helen is the author of ‘Hand Drawn Maps’ (Thames and Hudson 2017), and her work has appeared in a number of large community and fine art commissions.

Helen said: “Sometimes, you don’t know what abundance you have until you map it. In the past, I’ve always made the long trip up to London to visit galleries. I thought that London was where the serious art was, the best of culture, the cutting edge of the cutting edge. That’s certainly true, however, I hadn’t realised my home county has lots to offer too until a recent commission came up showcasing a wealth of fantastic art venues in a map of the Arts in Sussex.”

Venues on the map include the Royal Pavilion, Phoenix Art Space in Brighton, the Hastings Contemporary, Farley’s House and Gallery in Chiddingly, Charleston in Lewes, Towner gallery in Eastbourne, Glyndebourne Opera House, Pallant House in Chichester and many more. The A5 map was drawn and lettered by hand in pen and ink with digital colour.

Jessica Wood, Publisher at ROSA Magazine, said: "The arts programme across Sussex has grown from strength to strength with some of the country’s leading artists and makers in residence and a world-class exhibition, music and performing arts programme across its key venues and festivals. ROSA Magazine is here to cover it all in detail.”

Helen’s work has been commissioned for use in TV and film, such as for ‘His Dark Materials’ by HBO/BBC, by Lionsgate (for ‘The Spy who Dumped me’), the BBC (for ‘Mapp and Lucia’ and ‘Howard’s End’) and Searchlight Pictures for the film, ‘Chevalier’. Her map of Eastbourne is in the collection of Towner Gallery, and she regularly gives workshops in hand drawn mapping techniques at galleries and museums.

Launched in 2022, ROSA is a long read magazine published every quarter, with supporting digital, social and online content. ROSA focuses on the Sussex cultural scene: from visual art to film; classical music and opera; performance and festivals, as well as the region’s artists and makers, programmers and curators.

Through critical writing, the magazine celebrates the richness of Sussex’s cultural heritage and its creative industries, while and promoting Sussex artists on a regional and national level.

Visit Lewes and the Fine Art Publishers King & McGaw also sponsored the publication.

Councillor Johnny Denis, Lewes District Council’s cabinet member for arts, culture and tourism and leisure, said: “Visit Lewes was delighted to support the production of this beautiful map, which so stylishly illustrates the abundance of culture and creativity on our doorstep, and showcases Sussex as a wonderful place to experience the arts.”