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The British Art Show heads to Aberdeen Art Gallery


By Staff Reporter


Hayward Gallery Touring’s landmark exhibition, British Art Show 9 (BAS9), will open at Aberdeen Art Gallery on July 10 and run until October.

Geomancer by Lawrence Lek
Geomancer by Lawrence Lek

This display will mark the launch of the national tour for this ambitious exhibition of contemporary art, which takes place across the UK every five years.

Widely acknowledged as the most important recurrent exhibition of contemporary art produced in this country, the show will then tour to several venues in the cities of Wolverhampton, Manchester and Plymouth.

BAS9 is curated by Irene Aristizábal and Hammad Nasar who have made their artist selection for each city after travelling to more than 23 locations across the UK and meeting with over 230 practising artists.

Maeve Brennan's work will be on display
Maeve Brennan's work will be on display

The artists presented respond in critical ways to this 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.

The exhibition is structured around three main themes:

● Healing, Care and Reparative History

● Tactics for Togetherness

● Imagining New Futures

These themes were agreed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the global recognition of racial injustice sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020.

Works include pieces by Joey Holder
Works include pieces by Joey Holder

However, all three have become even more relevant in the present moment.

BAS9 has been conceived as a cumulative experience.

The exhibition is designed to change and adapt to each of its four host cities, presenting different combinations of artists and artworks that respond to their distinctive local contexts.

The exhibition includes a film programme in each of the four host cities and online, expanding the selection of works on view.

In Aberdeen, the exhibition focuses 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 to develop non-exploitative ways of living with the non-human.

Aberdeen, known as the Granite City, is undergoing major transformation within its offshore energy sector, as the city works towards realising its Net Zero vision.

This iteration of BAS9 urges humanity to put care at the very heart of our relationship with nature, and all beings, moving away from the hierarchical interaction that puts humans first.

The Aberdeen iteration of British Art Show 9 will display over 15 new artworks never-before seen in the UK, it will include six new commissions and two site-specific works.

For more information visit https://britishartshow9.co.uk/.



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