New dates for the UK's most influential contemporary art exhibition, British Art Show 9 (BAS 9), have been confirmed - with the University set to host part of the programme in 2022. The nationwide tour will culminate in Plymouth from 8 October to 23 December next year, following its residences in Aberdeen, Wolverhampton and Manchester.
Held every five years to showcase the work of British artists who have made a significant contribution to international contemporary art, BAS 9 will be shown across four city venues - The Box, KARST, The Levinsky Gallery at the University and The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art.
Forty-seven artists have been selected following extensive research by curators Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar. They include Turner Prize winners and bursary recipients and artists who have represented Britain at the prestigious Venice Biennale. Many of the artists are developing new works for the exhibition, which will include sculpture, film, installation, performance, painting and photography.
"This confirmation of new dates for the British Art Show is a huge boost for the artistic community in Plymouth and the South West, guaranteeing the exhibition will be with us in 2022,"
said Professor David Finkelstein, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business.
"The staging of BAS 7 in Plymouth was a landmark moment for the city's artistic and creative communities, expressing a cultural confidence that has gained momentum ever since. For its return, ten years on, the three overarching themes of healing, care and reparative history; tactics for togetherness; and imagining new futures, are poignant and powerful and very much needed in our post-pandemic world."
The new dates for the national tour are:
- 10 July - 10 October 2021: Aberdeen Art Gallery
- 22 January - 10 April 2022: Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Wolverhampton School of Art
- 13 May - 4 September 2022: Castlefield Gallery; Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA); HOME; Manchester Art Gallery and The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
- 8 October - 23 December 2022: The Box, KARST, The Levinsky Gallery at the University of Plymouth and The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art
Plymouth City Council Leader, Tudor Evans OBE, said:
"British Art Show 9 has been developed at such an unprecedented time in our history and it will be a truly exciting moment for Plymouth when it goes on display here. Although the tour has had to be revised due to the continuing impact of COVID-19, the new schedule is a testament to the collaboration an exhibition of this scale involves. We're very honoured to be the city that will round off the nationwide tour and are looking forward to working in partnership with everyone involved over the next few months."
