Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton.
Hayward Gallery Touring’s landmark exhibition, the British Art Show, is widely acknowledged as the most important and ambitious recurrent exhibition of contemporary art produced in the UK. Its 9th edition has opened at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and University of Wolverhampton School of Art on 22 January 2022, following its launch in Aberdeen in July 2021.
Featuring 47 artists and focusing on work made since 2015, “British Art Show 9” reflects a precarious moment in Britain’s history. During this time politics of identity and nation, and concerns of social, racial and environmental justice have pervaded public consciousness. The artists respond in critical ways to this complex context; they imagine new futures, propose alternative economies, explore new modes of resistance and find ways of living together. They do so through film, photography, painting, sculpture, and performance, as well as projects that don’t sit easily in any one category.
The exhibition is structured around three main themes—Healing, Care and Reparative History; Tactics for Togetherness; Imagining New Futures—and will change and adapt for each city, presenting different combinations of artists and artworks responding to the distinctive local contexts.
In Wolverhampton, the exhibition will focus on how we live with and give voice to difference, showcasing 34 artists whose works investigate identity from an intersectional perspective. These works will be presented in dialogue with Wolverhampton’s cultural history. Wolverhampton Art Gallery houses one of the most significant collections of art on the Troubles outside Northern Ireland and collects works linked to the British Black Arts movement, whose members studied at Wolverhampton School of Art. As part of “BAS9” there will be a display of selected works from this collection.
The participating artists for “BAS9” in Wolverhampton are: Hurvin Anderson; Michael Armitage; Simeon Barclay; Oliver Beer; James Bridle; Helen Cammock; Jamie Crewe; Oona Doherty; Sean Edwards; Mandy El-Sayegh; Mark Essen; GAIKA; Beatrice Gibson; Patrick Goddard; Andy Holden; Lawrence Lek; Paul Maheke; Elaine Mitchener; Oscar Murillo; Grace Ndiritu; Uriel Orlow; Hardeep Pandhal; Hetain Patel; Florence Peake; Joanna Piotrowska; Abigail Reynolds; Margaret Salmon; Hrair Sarkissian; Marianna Simnett; Sin Wai Kin (fka Victoria Sin); Hanna Tuulikki; Caroline Walker; Alberta Whittle; and Rehana Zaman.
“BAS9” includes a programme of artist films and a dedicated website enables artists to share works online. The exhibition is accompanied by a major publication and a wide-ranging programme of creative learning and engagement, which will further extend the reach of “BAS9” beyond the gallery walls.
“BAS9” includes a programme of artist films and a dedicated website enables artists to share works online. The exhibition is accompanied by a major publication and a wide-ranging programme of creative learning and engagement, which will further extend the reach of “BAS9” beyond the gallery walls.
“BAS9” continues its national tour to the cities of Manchester and Plymouth throughout 2022.
