History
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British Art Show 1 (1979)
The British Art Show was launched in 1979. The first show included paintings and sculpture by 112 artists and toured to Sheffield, Newcastle and Bristol, attracting a total attendance of 77,000 visitors.
Venues
- Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield
- Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
and Hatton Gallery, University of Newcastle - Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
and Royal West of England Academy
in conjunction with City Museum and Art Gallery
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British Art Show 2 (1984)
The 1984 exhibition encompassed work in all media including performance, film and video by 84 artists across generations. It was presented in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Southampton, and was seen by over 160,000 visitors.
Venues
- City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
and Ikon Gallery - Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
- Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield
- Southampton Art Gallery
- City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
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British Art Show 3 (1990)
The 1990 British Art Show concentrated on an emerging generation of artists aged under 35, and was presented in galleries in Glasgow, Leeds and at the Hayward in London.
Venues
- McLellan Galleries, Glasgow
- Leeds City Art Gallery
- Hayward Gallery, London
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British Art Show 4 (1995)
The 1995—96 exhibition reflected the growing international ambition of the British Art Show in terms of its size and audience expectations in each city. It was the largest exhibition in this country at the time, occupying major galleries and museums in three cities: Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff. It presented work in a wide range of media and many of the 25 featured artists were associated with the ‘yBA’ (young British Artists) generation. The total attendance figure for the exhibition exceeded 258,000.
Venues
Manchester
- Upper Campfield Market, Castlefield
- Castlefield Gallery
- Chinese Arts Centre
- City Art Galleries
- Cornerhouse
- Metropolitan Galleries
- Whitworth Art Gallery
Edinburgh
- City Art Centre
- Collective Gallery
- Fruitmarket Gallery
- Royal Botanic Garden
- Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
- Stills Gallery
- Talbot Rice Gallery
Cardiff
- Chapter Arts Centre
- Ffotogallery
- National Museum of Wales
- Oriel Gallery
(in collaboration with St David’s Hall and Cardiff Bay Art Trust)
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British Art Show 5 (2000)
British Art Show 5 was shown in multiple venues in four cities – Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff and Birmingham and celebrated the diversity of contemporary artistic practice over the past five years among a cross-generational range of British artists. It included work by senior figures, such as David Hockney and Paula Rego, whose work could be viewed and understood in a new light, and others who had appeared in previous British Art Shows, such as Susan Hiller and Art & Language were also represented. It included work by 54 artists, and the general tone of the show was understated, with a strong sense of the everyday emerging through both the figurative and the more abstract and conceptual works. The British Art Show 5 was seen by over 200,000 visitors.
Venues
Edinburgh
- City Art Centre
- Collective Gallery
- Dean Gallery
- Fruitmarket Gallery
- Inverleith House — Royal Botanic Garden
- Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
- Stills
- Talbot Rice Gallery
Southampton
- John Hansard Gallery
- Millais Gallery — Southampton Institute
- Southampton City Art Gallery
Cardiff
- Centre for Visual Art
- Chapter Arts Centre
- Ffotogallery
- National Museum & Gallery
Birmingham
- Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- Ikon Gallery
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British Art Show 6 (2006)
British Art Show 6 was shown in four cities across the UK. It opened at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead in September 2005 before travelling to Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol, closing in September 2006. BAS 6 saw a break from the principle of three selectors, a format adhered to since 1984, in favour of two curators working collaboratively. Andrea Schlieker and Alex Farquharson, both freelance curators, critics and lecturers, expressed an openness of attitude, backed up by a broad range of relevant experience across art forms and generations, nationally and internationally. Both expressed a strong preference for working collaboratively and an interest in reinvigorating the exhibition in each city. The final showing included new commissions by several of the participating artists, initiated by curators in Bristol. The selection of fifty artists and artist’s groups reflected the breadth, vitality and increasing internationalism of British art. 50% of the artists were born outside of the UK and half of the selected artists were female. The British Art Show 6 was seen by 357,180 visitors.
Venues
Gateshead
- Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
Manchester
- Castlefield Art Gallery
- Chinese Arts Centre
- Cornerhouse
- Manchester City Galleries
- Urbis
- Whitworth Art Gallery
Nottingham
- Angel Row Gallery
- Beatties
- Bonington Gallery
- Djanogly Art Gallery
- Nottingham Castle
Bristol
- Arnolfini
- Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
- R O O M
- Royal West of England Academy
- Spike Island
- Station
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