22 April 2015
BRITISH ART SHOW 8 – ARTISTS ANNOUNCED
Hayward Touring announces the selection of artists for British Art Show 8, opening in Leeds Art Gallery
on 9 October 2015 and touring to Edinburgh, Norwich and Southampton. The British Art Show is widely
recognised as the most ambitious and influential exhibition of contemporary British art, with artists
chosen for their significant contribution over the past five years.
The curators Anna Colin and Lydia Yee made their selection after extensive research and travel across
the UK. Many of the artists have a strong international presence, reflecting the increasingly globalised
networks operating in the art world. More than half of the participating artists are making new work for
the exhibition, while others will present recent work not previously seen in Britain.
The artists in British Art Show 8 are:
Åbäke
Lawrence Abu Hamdan
Caroline Achaintre
John Akomfrah and Trevor Mathison
Aaron Angell
Pablo Bronstein
Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin
Andrea Büttner
Alexandre da Cunha
Nicolas Deshayes
Benedict Drew
Simon Fujiwara
Martino Gamper
Ryan Gander
Melanie Gilligan
Anthea Hamilton
Will Holder
Alan Kane
Mikhail Karikis
Linder
Rachel Maclean
Ahmet Öğüt
Yuri Pattison
Ciara Phillips
Charlotte Prodger
Laure Prouvost
Magali Reus
James Richards
Eileen Simpson and Ben White
Daniel Sinsel
Cally Spooner
Patrick Staff
Imogen Stidworthy
Hayley Tompkins
Troy Town Art Pottery
Jessica Warboys
Stuart Whipps
Bedwyr Williams
Jesse Wine
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
The exhibition concept reflects on the status of the object at a time of increasing convergence between
the real and the virtual. In today’s seemingly dematerialised reality, many artists are reconsidering the
potential of the physical, revisiting skills and practices that have been overshadowed in the transition to
the digital. The notion of the object is re-imagined through a variety of production and collaborative
processes, as well as through the use of narrative and fiction.
This year the British Art Show benefits from the exceptional support of Arts Council England’s Strategic
Touring Fund. The grant will enable an integrated programme of audience development activities,
including new digital platforms, community engagement and artists’ projects outside the galleries. Other
supporters and partners confirmed to date include Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle; The Henry Moore
Foundation; Create; Fondation d’entrepise Galeries Lafayette; Northern Ballet; Dovecot Studios and
WERK, Birmingham.
Exhibition curators Anna Colin and Lydia Yee said: "Working on the British Art Show has been a rich
and stimulating experience. Rather than arriving with a set theme and inviting artists accordingly, the
curatorial framework was developed out of conversations with artists and observations made over the
course of one year. We were particularly interested in the rereading of objects by artists and other
contemporary thinkers as active agents, generative entities, mutating forms and networked realities.
This has given us a starting point to explore how production, labour and collaborative processes can
enter into dynamic conversation with the objects’ narrative potential and web of relations.”
Roger Malbert, Head of Hayward Touring, said: “The five year interval between British Art Shows is
long enough for each to have a markedly different character and introduce a new generation of artists.
This edition signifies a shift of curatorial perspective as well: the exhibition will evolve as it moves from
city to city, with more collaborative relationships between artists and local organisations and
communities.”
The exhibition tour dates are:
LEEDS
Leeds Art Gallery
9 October 2015 – 10 January 2016
EDINBURGH
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, and Inverleith
House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
13 February – 8 May 2016
NORWICH
Norwich University of the Arts and Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery
24 June – 4 September 2016
SOUTHAMPTON
John Hansard Gallery and Southampton City Art Gallery
8 October 2016 – 14 January 2017
ENDS
For press information contact Helena Zedig, Deputy Head of Press, at
[email protected] / 020 7921 0847.
Southbank Centre Press Office: 020 7921 0888.
Notes to Editors:
Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of
London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary
creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is
home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well
as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection.
Hayward Touring is an integral part of the Hayward Gallery, producing exhibitions that tour to
galleries, museums and other publicly-funded venues throughout Britain. Hayward Touring collaborates
with artists, independent curators, writers and partner institutions to develop imaginative exhibitions that
are seen by approximately half a million people in over 100 cities and towns each year.
Anna Colin is an independent curator based in London. She is a co-founder and co-Director of Open
School East and Associate Curator at Fondation Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
Lydia Yee is Chief Curator at Whitechapel Gallery. She was previously Curator at Barbican Art Gallery.
Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich
people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to
digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires
us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life
better. Between 2015 and 2018, we plan to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an
estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people
as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
For further information about Strategic Touring Fund please visit:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-funding/apply-for-funding/strategic-touring-programme/