Folkestone plans blue-chip art project. Photograph: Martin Argles
So Folkestone, with its forthcoming inaugural triennial, wants to become a hub of art and culture, perhaps the new Münster? Or even the new Venice.
Whatever fabulous things are happening culturally on England's Kentish coast (Margate and Whitstable are no slouches in the area of the visual arts), it feels like Folkestone's got some way to go before quite hitting the heights of Venice, bless it. But good for them - even if there is a hint of Passport to Pimlico about the whole idea (in the best possible way: British pluck triumphs against the odds, I like to think).
What other British towns could do with a makeover, I wonder? Could Cannock become the new Cannes? Burslem the new Bayreuth? Southend the new Sundance? Bring it on, I say.
The patron saint of Folkestone is St Eanswythe: she made water run uphill, so I reckon anything is possible.
