Madonna has shared her love for Tracey Emin, and praised the British town of Margate as being her “idea of heaven”.
The pop icon took to Instagram to share her thoughts after going to an art exhibition last week, which was held in the town on England’s southeast coast. She was photographed with artist Tracey Emin, who has been her friend for over 25 years now, and also shared an assortment of images she took from the show.
In the caption, Madonna not only described Emin as a “pearl”, but also celebrated the artist’s efforts for championing the once-declining seaside resort over the years – saying it has helped to build a “community” for creatives.
“What she has created in this community by the sea is quite remarkable,” she wrote, also telling her 20million followers about Emin’s artist residency programme, where she creates a platform for young artists “who otherwise would have no place to paint and develop their talent” to come and be “a part of the many exhibitions that happen around Margate.”
“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,” Madonna added.
Speaking of the town itself, the ‘Vogue’ singer said that it “is my idea of heaven”, and also mentioned that her “favourite Italian restaurant” is based there – but she doesn’t want to disclose the name of it because then everyone would “go there and it only has one table”.
Check out the full post above.
Madonna isn’t the only huge name in music to share praise for the UK town either. Back in 2020, indie giants The Libertines‘ opened their own hotel and studio space in the Kent seaside town called Albion Rooms – having acquired the keys to the building three years prior.
The band went on to record their 2024 Number One album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ at The Albion Rooms – which is located at 31 Eastern Esplanade, Cliftonville, Margate, and gave NME a tour of the space.
At the latter, guitarist Carl Barât explained: “The band live in three different countries, and the only thing that really binds us without something like this is tour schedules. To have a place that’s our own HQ and that we all have equal ownership of and equal input in – that was the dream.”
In May 2024, the band announced that The Albion Rooms hotel in Margate was set to become solely a residential recording studio and events space.
As for other Madonna news, back in September the pop icon announced her return to Warner Records with a new dance album, ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor Part 2’, scheduled for release later this year.
It comes almost two decades after the pop icon departed the label, with which she was signed for the first 25 years of her career.
The ‘Like A Virgin’ singer first teased a part two to the seminal dance album back in February, telling followers: “My Valentine’s Day gift to all my fans is to let you know I’m putting my heart and soul into my new music and I can’t wait to share it with you!! 🤍. Confessions Part 2.”
The new record will see her reunite with the producer of the original ‘Confessions on a Dancefloor’, Stuart Price, whom she already revealed she had been working with back in December, and it has already been listed as one of NME’s most anticipated albums of the year.
Last summer, there was another update shared about a forthcoming biopic centred around the Queen of Pop too, with Julia Garner confirming that she is still due to take on the lead role in the upcoming project.
The miniseries has been in talks for a long time, and is set to arrive on Netflix according to previous reports. While details remain under wraps, in May, it was also revealed that the singer would be working with Deadpool & Wolverine filmmaker Shawn Levy on the project.
