British Art Show 9

Hayward Gallery Touring’s landmark exhibition, the British Art Show, will open its ninth edition in Scotland at Aberdeen Art Gallery on July 10, 2021.

The British Art Show is widely acknowledged as the most important and ambitious recurrent exhibition of contemporary art produced in the UK, bringing the work of artists defining new directions in contemporary art to four UK cities. Following its launch in Aberdeen in July 2021, the exhibition will continue its national tour to multiple venues across the the cities of Wolverhampton, Manchester and Plymouth throughout 2022.

British Art Show 9 is curated by Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar and will showcase the work of 47 artists. Focusing on work made since 2015, the exhibition 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 presented in the exhibition respond in critical ways to this complex context. Through their works, 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 through multimedia 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 has been conceived as a cumulative experience. The exhibition will change and adapt for each city, presenting different combinations of artists and artworks that respond to their distinctive local contexts. In Aberdeen, the exhibition will focus on the effort to develop alternative systems for ethical cohabitation in the world. The presentation centres on exploring different forms of knowledge—including spirituality—to heal the earth, to resist the injustices of extractivism, and develop non-exploitative ways of living with the non-human. 

The participating artists for British Art Show 9 in Aberdeen include: Michael Armitage, Simeon Barclay, Zach Blas, Kathrin Böhm, Maeve Brennan, James Bridle, Helen Cammock, Cooking Sections, Jamie Crewe, Patrick Goddard, Anne Hardy, Celia Hempton, Joey Holder, Marguerite Humeau, Lawrence Lek, Ghislaine Leung, Paul Maheke, Elaine Mitchener, Grace Ndiritu, Uriel Orlow, Hardeep Pandhal, Florence Peake, Joanna Piotrowska, Abigail Reynolds, Margaret Salmon, Hrair Sarkissian, Katie Schwab, Tai Shani, Marianna Simnett, Sin Wai Kin (fka Victoria Sin), Hanna Tuulikki, Alberta Whittle, Rehana Zaman.

Over half of the works will receive their UK premiere, including many significant new commissions and site specific installations, such as:

Maeve Brennan’s new iteration of The Goods (2018–ongoing); a series of moving-image works and photographs which take an in-depth look at the international traffic of looted cultural objects.

Patrick Goddard’s new film commission Animal Antics (2021); an absurdist commentary on the Anthropocene. The work is co-commissioned with Film and Video Umbrella, FLAMIN London, and EWERK Freiburg.

A new participatory project by Grace Ndiritu, Plant Theatre For Plant People (2021), that creates a community of people learning from plants and culminates in a processional performance through the streets of Aberdeen. This work is made possible by Arts Council England support.

Three new works by Florence Peake each named CRUDE CARE; a ceramic sculpture, a performance and film informed by Aberdeen’s landscape and precarious workers in the care sector. This work is made possible through Art Fund support.

A new instalment of Tai Shani’s experiential installation Neon Hieroglyph (2021), calling on Shani’s research into ergot, a fungus with toxic and psychoactive properties.

The exhibition includes a programme of artists’ films and a dedicated website enables artists, including those not showing works in Aberdeen, to share works online. It is accompanied by a publication that includes curatorial essays and individual artist texts.

Alongside the exhibition a wide-ranging programme of creative learning and engagement will extend the reach of British Art Show 9 beyond the walls of Aberdeen Art Gallery. This will include new commissions, community co-created artists projects, performances, and programmes of social engagement to inspire, empower and foster deeper experiences with art.

British Art Show 9 is a Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition presented in collaboration with the cities of Aberdeen, Wolverhampton, Manchester and Plymouth. Curated by Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar.