Moments from Brighton

Brighton's art scene runs on a different energy than London's hour away, looser and more DIY, shaped by decades as a magnet for artists priced out of the capital and by a genuinely long tradition of countercultural, seaside-bohemian identity that goes back to the Regency era. The North Laine, a warren of narrow streets between the station and the seafront, is thick with independent galleries, artist-run studios, and print shops, while the city's street art scene, concentrated especially around the North Laine and the lanes near the station, has produced work from artists including a well-known unauthorized Banksy piece that's since been protected behind glass.

Fabrica, a contemporary art space installed inside a deconsecrated Regency-era church, is worth seeking out specifically for how the building itself shapes the work, artists are commissioned to respond directly to the church's nave and light rather than hang conventionally on gallery walls. Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, inside the same complex as the Royal Pavilion, rounds things out with a more traditional collection. Treat a Brighton art day as a walking day rather than a checklist of buildings, much of what's worth seeing here is on the street rather than behind an admission desk.