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Howard Sooley
Derek Jarman’s garden continues to inspire visitors, more than 25 years after his death
A cottage owned by filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman will be bought by an art charity after a fundraising campaign.
Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, Kent, had been at risk of being sold privately until campaigners started to raise money in January.
Their target of £3.5m was reached thanks to more than 7,300 donations.
The building, its contents and gardens will be preserved by Art Fund, which will host a residency programme for creatives.
Derek Jarman: Vision, charm and outrage
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Howard Sooley
Derek Jarman transformed his traditional fisherman’s hut in Dungeness
Jarman, who also directed pop videos for the Pet Shop Boys, the Sex Pistols and The Smiths, died of AIDS-related complications in 1994, aged 52.
He is buried at St. Clements Church in Old Romney, Kent.
Stephen Deuchar, director of Art Fund, said that securing the cottage “may seem a minor thing by comparison with the global epidemic crisis which has recently enveloped all our lives”.
However, he added: “Derek Jarman’s final years at the cottage were an inspiring example of human optimism, creativity and fortitude battling against the ravages of illness, and in that context the success of this campaign seems all the more apposite and right for its time.”
The sale of a suit also raised £16,000 – it was designed by triple Oscar-winner Sandy Powell and signed by celebrities including Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Renee Zellweger, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sir Elton John and Joaquin Phoenix.
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