Providing an important overview of the most exciting contemporary art produced in the UK, the British Art Show is a multi-venue exhibition presented every five years in four different cities across the country. The biggest touring exhibition of its kind, the last show saw more than 400,000 visitors.
The first stop for the British Art Show 8 will be at the Leeds Art Gallery, which will be the host from Friday October 9 until January 10, 2016. It will then appear in Edinburgh, Norwich and finally Southampton, in October 2016.
The exhibition has been curated by Anna Colin of Lydia Yee, who also curate for Fondation Galeries Lafayette in Paris and the Barbican art gallery in London respectively. Together they have selected the work of 42 artists considered to have made a significant contribution to contemporary art in the UK over the past five years.
As a result, the show will feature a wide range of exhibits, encompassing performance, film, sculpture, installation, painting and the design. Over half the artists have created new works specially for the exhibition.
Artists include graphic design collective Åbäke, performance and installation artist Patrick Staff, portrait painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, 'voice sculptor' Imogen Stidworthy, digital media artist Yuri Pattison and many more. You can see all the artists here.
The British Art Show 8 starts on Friday October 9 with a late opening at Leeds Art Gallery from 5-10pm, where entry will be free. The public launch event will form a part of the city's larger cultural showcase, Unfold, starting with Light Night, where festivities will be taking place across the city centre for one night.
British Art Show 8. October 9-January 10, 2016. Leeds Art Gallery, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AA.
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