Forty-five artists have been selected to take part in the UK’s biggest contemporary art show which visits Plymouth in autumn next year.
KARST is one of four city venues to host the British Art Show 9 for a three-month run beginning in October 2021. The other galleries are the Arts Institute’s Levinsky Gallery at the University of Plymouth, the Gallery at Plymouth College of Art, and The Box.
Among the artists named for the BAS9 are Abigail Reynolds and Katie Schwab, who are both based in Cornwall. The others are: Hurvin Anderson, Michael Armitage, Simeon Barclay, Oliver Beer, Zach Blas, Kathrin Böhm, Maeve Brennan, James Bridle, Helen Cammock, Than Hussein Clark, Cooking Sections (Alon Schwabe & Daniel Fernández Pascual), Jamie Crewe, Oona Doherty, Sean Edwards, Mandy El-Sayegh, Mark Essen, Gaika, Beatrice Gibson, Patrick Goddard, Anne Hardy, Celia Hempton, Andy Holden, Joey Holder, Marguerite Humeau, Lawrence Lek, Ghislaine Leung, Paul Maheke, Elaine Mitchener, Oscar Murillo, Grace Ndiritu, Uriel Orlow, Hardeep Pandhal, Hetain Patel, Florence Peake, Heather Phillipson, Joanna Piotrowska, Margaret Salmon, Hrair Sarkissian, Tai Shani, Marianna Simnett, Victoria Sin, Hanna Tuulikki , Caroline Walker, Alberta Whittle and Rehana Zaman.
The Hayward Gallery, which organises the show also announced the curators as Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar, saying they both had a wealth of international experience and a deep understanding of British contemporary art.
In a joint statement the curators said: “We appreciate the opportunity to build on its historical legacy at this extraordinary time of flux. What does ‘British’ mean after the Brexit vote? How are artists stretching the boundaries of art to respond to the times? We look forward to producing an exciting exhibition that is also an exchange between artists, venues and audiences.”
Works will include sculpture, film, installation, performance, painting and photography.
Ralph Rugoff, Director of the Hayward Gallery said BAS9 has been developed at a precarious moment in history that has brought health, politics and questions of identity to the fore.
He added: “The artists will respond in critical ways to this complex backdrop—exploring how we live with and give voice to difference, blurring the boundaries between art and life, imagining alternative futures and ways of living together.”