Madonna has lavished praise on Margate after spending the weekend in the Kent seaside town, describing it as a place “inhabited and energised by creativity” and admitting that “whenever I go there, I feel like I’ve entered a dream”.
The pop icon shared a series of posts on Instagram documenting her visit, including photographs of herself with Tracey Emin inside the artist’s studio.
Alongside the images, she wrote: “Dame Tracey Emin is a Pearl. A precious necklace that has been draped around a seaside Town in England called Margate.”
Madonna said she has known Emin for more than 25 years and remains a long-time admirer of “her extremely personal and provocative work”.
She also praised Emin’s artist residency programme at TKE Studios, which invites young creatives from across the world to live and work in the town for month-long stints.
“These artists would have no place to paint and develop their talent and be a part of the many exhibitions that happen around Margate,” she wrote. “I’ve been there a few times now and I’m always struck by the commitment and passion of all of these artists. Hungry, possessed, and extremely grateful to have this opportunity.
“They all have very touching stories to share and honestly it’s so refreshing to witness them working in such a dedicated way.”
Calling the town’s community of writers, performers, photographers and painters “my idea of heaven”, Madonna also shared her enthusiasm for a local Italian restaurant, although declined to name it.
“I’m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone’s going to go there and it only has one table,” she joked. Locals have since speculated she was referring to Bottega Caruso, a family-run spot.
The singer was previously reported to have been spotted at the Carl Freedman Gallery and Emin’s TKE Studios, and The Sun reported that she attended the grassroots arts festival Off Season last weekend, which takes place across studios and warehouses in the town.
Margate has increasingly become a magnet for artists and celebrities.
The Crown star Emma Corrin is now a resident while Lily Allen, Sam Mendes and Olivia Colman have been seen in the area in recent years.
The town’s cultural renaissance was kickstarted by the opening of the Turner Contemporary gallery and its reputation as “Shoreditch-on-Sea” was cemented when Pete Doherty opened the Albion Rooms hotel in 2017. Although Doherty later left Margate, he returned in 2025 to captain Margate FC in a friendly match.
In 2023, Pedro Pascal was spotted there with podcasters Robert Diament and actor Russell Tovey, attempting to visit an exhibition dedicated to him, only to find it closed. The trio later shared a selfie captioned: “Margate art friends reunited.”
