British Art Exhibition to start English tour in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton has been chosen as the first English city to host the next British Art exhibition, featuring a diverse range of works by 35 artists including a number of Turner Prize winners.
Among them is 2019 winner Helen Cammock, who grew up in the city.
The exhibition will be held at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the University of Wolverhampton School of Art and will open in the new year - running from January 22 to April 10.
This year’s exhibition is said to display the most diverse range of artists in its long-running history, with 40 per cent of those displaying work being Black or Asian, 45 per cent being women and 11 per cent being from European backgrounds.
Tuesday's meeting of the council’s Scrutiny Board applauded and welcomed the news the city would play host to the event.
Marguerite Nugent, the council’s Manager of Arts and Culture, told the meeting: “This is a really exciting event that we have coming to the city after Christmas. This project goes beyond just being an exhibition in our spaces.
“The British Art Show is a major cultural event on the UK calendar that takes place every five years. It always tours to four cities and is led by Hayward Gallery Touring, based at the South Bank Centre in London.
“It has been held since the 1970s so it has really got quite a long history. What’s really exciting is that Wolverhampton is the first English host city. The exhibition opened in Aberdeen in the summer and it’s touring first to Wolverhampton, then to Manchester and then finally to Plymouth.
“So, what we’re hoping is that on that basis – given that Aberdeen is quite some distance away – Wolverhampton is going to be the first opportunity for many English visitors to see the exhibition."
She added: “There are very many high-profile artists who are taking part, including four Turner Prize winners and three Turner Prize nominees including Helen Cammock, who was a winner in 2019 and grew up in Wolverhampton, so it will be really great to welcome her back to the city.
“There are three key themes to the exhibition – healing, care and reparative history, tactics for togetherness and imagining new futures. Although this has been in the planning for some time, these themes seem even more relevant to us in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In Wolverhampton there is a real focus on ‘living and giving voice to difference’, which gives us an opportunity to have conversations around these themes.”
The event forms part of the council’s ‘Relight our City’ drive to boost the local day-time and night-time economy and increase footfall from visitors.
