Turner Contemporary, located along Margate’s picturesque seafront, is reopening to visitors this weekend.

The much-loved art gallery has been closed since Monday, February 21. However, the public can return to this cultural hotspot from Saturday, March 5 and visitors can explore the new POW! Exhibition, Reclaim the Narrative, over the opening weekend.

Reclaim the Narrative is a group exhibition featuring an exciting variety of paintings, photography, film and graphic text by eight Kent-based artists. Each artist has connections to countries including Ukraine, Bolivia, El Salvador, Iran, Sierra Leone, India and Nigeria.

The exhibition sees the artists sharing stories about their communities and how their lives and experiences are represented through art.

Turner Contemporary will have a restricted programme in place until their next exhibition, Wayfinder: Larry Achiampong & JMW Turner, opens on Saturday, 12 March.

This is the first major solo exhibition by Larry Achiampong, a British-Ghanian artist who has worked in film, sculpture, installation, sound, collage, music and performance.

For this exhibition, Larry has curated a collection of paintings by 19th century painter and gallery namesake JMW Turner.

Artists displaying exhibitions at Turner Contemporary are invited to explore the legacy of JMW Turner and introduce audiences to historic art. Larry has chosen oil paintings, watercolours and other pieces from the artist’s expansive body of work.

This exhibition also includes Larry’s new feature-length film, Wayfinder, about a young girl’s journey across England. Set in a pandemic, the film encourages a dialogue about class, economics, belonging and heritage.

“I am so excited to share the expansive vision of this story which marks a new and exciting stage in my art practice,” says the 37-year-old. “I never set out to create a film of this size, but due to the scope of ideas that evolved along the way, it increasingly became inevitable that this would become my first feature film.”

The Wayfinder exhibition will also include a gaming room, created in collaboration with Turner Contemporary along with BAFTA Young Game Designers, The Prince’s Trust and Into Games.

The gaming room will showcase the video games that inspired Larry’s work. This interactive space will allow visitors to play with consoles, attend game design workshops and listen to game soundtracks - and the best part is, it’s all free to access.

“This project feels like a poignant moment for me, not just professionally and as a maker of films, but also personally,” says the London-born artist. “It has felt very important and necessary, especially at this point in time to be able to bring this range of subject matter and conversations to the table at what is increasingly becoming a contentious moment of our times.”

Wayfinder: Larry Achiampong & JMW Turner is open until Sunday, June 19.

Tickets to Turner Contemporary are free, but must be booked online in advance here.