British Art Show 6

BALTIC, Newcastle & tour

24 Sept - 8 Jan 2006         

A HAYWARD GALLERY TOURING EXHIBITION
Tours to venues across the cities of Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol
Supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

The British Art Show occurs every five years, and is the largest and most ambitious survey of recent developments in art from the UK. Organised by the Hayward Gallery, the British Art Show 6 opens at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art on 24 September 2005, and tours to venues across Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol. All 50 artists and artists’ groups featured work in Britain, and together represent the breadth and vitality of current British practice.

In developing the shortlist for the British Art Show 6, curators Andrea Schlieker and Alex Farquharson travelled extensively throughout the UK and considered the work of over 500 artists. They said: ‘It is a particularly exciting moment for us to assemble this exhibition, as the art scene in Britain is now broader in outlook, more vibrant and internationally oriented than at any other time in the British Art Show’s 26-year history.’

The range of practices represented is equally varied, with a number of artists working across several disciplines, from sculpture, painting, film and video to performance. British Art Show 6 also includes several commissions for projects in the public realm. For the first time since the British Art Show was launched in 1979, 50% of the artists featured in the exhibition are women and 50% were born outside of the UK.

As well as broadening in scope, the British Art Show 6 goes beyond the conventions of a touring exhibition, evolving as it moves to each host city. It features off-site works, a Live Art programme, and works that respond to the venues, cities and audiences on the tour. Where relevant, some artists are represented by different works in different cities.

Speaking about the exhibition, the curators said: ‘We noticed several interlocking themes that characterise much of the art we encountered – there are frequent references to specific moments in the history of modernism; several artists are engaging with international politics from a personal perspective, and collaborations are increasingly sought with people and organisations beyond the art institution. References to architecture, the urban environment, landscape and ecology are equally prevalent’.

THE ARTISTS:
Tomma Abts
Haluk Akakçe
Phillip Allen
Tonico Lemos Auad
Claire Barclay
Anna Barriball
Breda Beban
Zarina Bhimji
Neil Cummings and
Marysia Lewandowska
public works
Ergin Çavuþoðlu
Gordon Cheung
Adam Chodzko
Marcus Coates
Nathan Coley
Phil Collins
Enrico David
Chris Evans
Doug Fishbone
Siobhán Hapaska
Roger Hiorns
Matthew Houlding
Richard Hughes
Marine Hugonnier
Gareth Jones
juneau/projects/
Kerstin Kartscher
Janice Kerbel
Mark Leckey
Hew Locke
Andrew McDonald
Christina Mackie
Goshka Macuga
Daria Martin
Heather and Ivan Morison
Rosalind Nashashibi
Nils Norman
Saskia Olde Wolbers
Silke Otto-Knapp
Toby Paterson
Paul Rooney
Eva Rothschild
Zineb Sedira
Lucy Skaer
Alia Syed
David Thorpe
Mark Titchner
Rebecca Warren
Gary Webb
Carey Young

THE TOUR:

GATESHEAD 24 Sept 2005 – 8 Jan 2006
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art

MANCHESTER 28 Jan – 2 Apr 2006
Castlefield Art Gallery; Chinese Arts Centre; Cornerhouse; The International 3; Manchester Art Gallery; Urbis; The Whitworth Art Gallery

NOTTINGHAM 22 Apr – 25 Jun 2006
Angel Row Gallery; New Art Exchange; The Bonington Gallery; Djanogly Art Gallery; Nottingham Castle;
Yard Gallery

BRISTOL 15 Jul – 17 Sept 2006
Arnolfini; Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; ROOM; Royal West of England Academy; Spike Island; Station

NOTES TO EDITORS:

THE BRITISH ART SHOW IS A HAYWARD GALLERY TOURING EXHIBITION FROM THE SOUTH BANK CENTRE, LONDON, ORGANISED ON BEHALF OF ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND AND PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH BALTIC CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART AND IN VENUES ACROSS THE CITIES OF MANCHESTER, NOTTINGHAM AND BRISTOL.

It was first staged in 1979. The curators of the British Art Show 6 are Andrea Schlieker and Alex Farquharson. Andrea Schlieker is a freelance curator, lecturer and writer. She was curator at the Arnolfini, Bristol (1984–1985), ICA, London (1985–1988) and Serpentine Gallery, London (1988–1995). She is Curator of the Fourth Plinth Project in Trafalgar Square, and lectures at Sotheby’s Institute in London. Alex Farquharson is a freelance curator, critic and lecturer. He was Exhibitions Director at Centre for Visual Arts in Cardiff (1999–2000) and Exhibitions Director at Spacex in Exeter (1996–1998). As well as curating numerous international exhibitions and contributing to art publications he lectures at the Royal College of Art in London.

The Hayward Gallery is a constituent part of the South Bank Centre, which is also responsible for the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room , the Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. Each year the Hayward Gallery presents up to six major exhibitions as well as touring exhibitions in more than 100 venues around the country. SBC also stages nearly 1,000 ticketed performances of music, dance and literature and more than 300 free foyer events. It annually attracts more than three million visitors.