Art Over Water

Art Over Water is coming to Highdown Gallery in Worthing, running from 17 April to 25 April 2027. It's an exhibition that takes its name from the very thing the gallery is built around, so it's worth knowing a bit about the place before you head over.

The gallery sits inside Highdown Gardens, which were created over 58 years by Sir Frederick Stern. He spent those decades collecting rare, chalk-tolerant plants from all over the world, and the gardens have been open to the public since 1910. They're a proper draw for the area, with about 80,000 people visiting in the last year alone. The gallery itself is in the former visitor centre, tucked into a former chalk quarry on the South Downs National Park.

Water runs through the whole site. The estate's waterfall was originally fed by a natural chalk spring, and it was brought back to life with an off-grid solar system called the 'Solar Pagoda' that recycles the pond water. The gardens are also known for their snowdrops — Stern wrote a book about them and was the first to describe more than one species — and for the wildlife, including the resident robins. It's the kind of place where you can spend as much time in the gardens as you do in the gallery.

If you miss the spring run, there's a second window later in the year: Art Over Water returns from 9 October to 17 October 2027. The gallery is open every day of the year and is free to visit, so you can drop in whenever suits you. The exhibition runs for nine days each time, from 17 to 25 April and 9 to 17 October, both at Highdown Gallery in Highdown Gardens, Worthing.