The Duke of Devonshire saw how an £8.5 million cultural centre will look in East Sussex.
He attended the International Lawn Tennis Centre at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, to see plans for the striking building due to be finished in 2007.
He also launched a fund-raising campaign to raise £1.6 million needed for the contemporary centre, to be built next to the Grade II* listed Congress Theatre in Eastbourne.
Also attending yesterday were civic leaders including Mayor Barbara Goodall, borough council chief executive Martin Ray and architects from Rick Mather Architects.
Earlier, the duke - a major landowner in the area - visited the 18th Century Towner Art Gallery in High Street, Old Town, Eastbourne.
The cultural centre project involves relocating paintings and sculptures from the Towner Art Gallery to the new centre.
The collections include a cross-section of 20th Century British artists, from Christopher Wood and Eric Ravillious to Peter Lanyon and Ian Hamilton-Finlay.
Council officials hope it will become a 21st Century cultural hub that will be envied in the arts scene across the South-East.
Planning approval for the centre was granted in December and the South-East England Development Agency and Arts Council England have pledged cash.
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