Artists announced for New Contemporaries 70th anniversary

Constantly evolving and developing along with the changing face of visual art in the UK, to mark its 70th anniversary, New Contemporaries is pleased to announce this year's selected artists with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The panel of guest selectors comprising Rana Begum, Sonia Boyce and Ben Rivers has chosen 45 artists for the annual open submission exhibition.

Since 1949 New Contemporaries has played a vital part in the story of contemporary British art. Throughout the exhibition's history, a wealth of established artists have participated in New Contemporaries exhibitions including post-war figures Frank Auerbach and Paula Rego; pop artists Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney; YBAs Damien Hirst and Gillian Wearing; alongside contemporary figures such as Tacita Dean, Mark Leckey, Mona Hatoum, Mike Nelson and Chris Ofili; whilst more recently a new generation of artists including Ed Atkins, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Rachel Maclean and Laure Prouvost have also taken part. 

Selected artists for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2019 are: Jan Agha, Eleonora Agostini, Justin Apperley, Ismay Bright, Roland Carline, Liam Ashley Clark, Becca May Collins, Rafael Pérez Evans, Katharina Fitz, Samuel Fordham, Chris Gilvan-Cartwright, Gabriela Giroletti, Roei Greenberg, Elena Helfrecht, Mary Herbert, Laura Hindmarsh, Cyrus Hung, Yulia Iosilzon, Umi Ishihara, Alexei Alexander Izmaylov, Paul Jex, Eliot Lord, Annie Mackinnon, Renie Masters, Simone Mudde, Isobel Napier, Louis Blue Newby, Louiza Ntourou, Ryan Orme, Marijn Ottenhof, Jonas Pequeno, Emma Prempeh, Zoe Radford, Taylor Jack Smith, George Stamenov, Emily Stollery, Wilma Stone, Jack Sutherland, Xiuching Tsay, Alaena Turner, Klara Vith, Ben Walker, Ben Yau, Camille Yvert and Stefania Zocco.

Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2019 will launch from September 14 to November 17, 2019 at Leeds Art Gallery, coinciding with the final weekend of Yorkshire Sculpture International. The show will then travel to the South London Gallery from December 6, 2019 to February 23, 2020. 

A series of public programmes, newly commissioned work and collaborations will mark New Contemporaries 70th anniversary, reaching new audiences over the next twelve months. These include a digital project commissioned by The Space, comprising six short video interviews with New Contemporaries alumni including Bruce McLean, Mark Wallinger, Rachel Maclean, Hardeep Pandhal and Chantal Joffe, alongside a new digital project by Mark Leckey; newly commissioned work by alumni artist James N Hutchinson in partnership with The Tetley; a two-day conference in collaboration with the Courtauld Institute of Art; the launch of a New Contemporaries Leeds Fellowship—a one month MRes fellowship in partnership with Leeds Beckett University and the Henry Moore Institute, as well as a series of public programmes in partnership with Leeds Art Gallery, University of Leeds, Henry Moore Institute, and the South London Gallery.

2019 will also mark New Contemporaries first Venice Biennial Fellowship in collaboration with the British Council which will see New Contemporaries artist David Walker Kennedy (alumni 2017) partaking in a month-long residency in Venice in August 2019.

Kirsty Ogg, Director, New Contemporaries says, “With a dazzling range of names in post-war and contemporary art, collectively our alumni have helped define contemporary visual culture. This milestone in our history presents an opportunity to reflect on our past, present and future. New Contemporaries has consistently reflected and responded to developments in artistic practice, the changing landscape of galleries, and the role of art school education over 70 years. The annual exhibition is an example of visual art’s development, encapsulating UK art education at a given moment and embodying changing ideas about the social purpose of art. 

“Our 70th anniversary is a celebration of achievement, yet now more than ever, it is important that we find new ways to support emergent art practice. We would therefore like to thank all our alumni, guest selectors, board, funders and supporters over the years, whose openness to discourse and discovery has helped steer New Contemporaries vision and ensured our continued progressiveness.”

As a National Portfolio Organisation, New Contemporaries is a registered charity supported using public funding by Arts Council England.