British Art Show 10 will include over 30 artists to explore human connection and the figure of the Other in divided times.
Hayward Gallery Touring announces the title, concept and selection of participating artists in British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers. Launching in Coventry in October 2026 before touring to Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead, Ekow Eshun’s curatorial vision will bring together over 30 artists to provide a vital overview of the most exciting art produced in the UK during the past five years, including:
Okiki Akinfe; Alex Margo Arden; Liz Johnson Artur; Alvaro Barrington; Shiraz Bayjoo; Lubna Chowdhary; Shawanda Corbett; Jesse Darling; Ufuoma Essi; Joy Gerrard; Louise Giovanelli; Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings; Kudzanai-Violet Hwami; Nnena Kalu; Jasleen Kaur; Christina Kimeze; Julian knxx; Matthew Krishanu; Alastair Mackinven; Melanie Manchot; Lindsey Mendick; Emma McNally; Dala Nasser; Jack O’Brien; Nengi Omuku; Precious Okoyomon; Hannah Perry; Mohammed Sami; Rae-Yen Song; Emma Talbot; Nicole Wermers; Osman Yousefzada.
Nengi Omuku, One Particular Man, 2026. All works courtesy of the artist and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London.
As the UK’s largest recurring contemporary art exhibition, British Art Show 10 is produced by Hayward Gallery Touring and forms a key part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary national programme.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, says: “For 75 years, the Southbank Centre has traced the creative pulse of a changing country through a programme that reflects the times we live in. The landmark tenth British Art Show, travelling to more cities than ever before, continues this legacy, inviting the nation to reconsider today’s major issues through the eyes of the most interesting artists working in Britain. Drawing on the spirit of the 1951 Festival of Britain, where our story began, Ekow Eshun’s concept dares us to imagine a more connected future in divided times. I look forward to seeing these vital conversations unfolding across the UK.”
CONCEPT
British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers takes place against a backdrop of heightened anxiety intensified by a divisive political culture, an accelerating climate crisis, and growing public distrust in institutions. In polarising times, the exhibition asks: what forms might empathy or shared imagination take?
At its core, A Chorus of Strangers considers how art can challenge fears of otherness and difference often sparked in periods of uncertainty or change. Rather than framing the outsider or stranger figure as a threat, British Art Show 10 invites a shift towards empathy – moving away from rigid distinctions of “us” and “them” to explore the variety of perspectives that comes from looking through the eyes of others.
Ekow Eshun, Curator of British Art Show 10, elaborates: “Across centuries, artists have used their ability to work with uncertainty, contradiction and possibility to create works that privilege affinity over isolation. British Art Show 10 celebrates their unique position while looking ahead to the future. Some works address the social fractures and the environmental fragility of the present, others offer more intimate gestures of kinship. Together, they illuminate art’s ability to cross boundaries: between ourselves and others, the human and the natural world, the past and the futures yet to unfold.”
THEMES
The exhibition is organised around three overlapping curatorial themes that span the psychological, sociological and ecological. Each theme is inspired by the work of an influential British writer or theorist who has grappled with the tensions between the Individual and the Other.
Moments of Being
Moments of Being takes its title from Virginia Woolf’s description of the fleeting instances when the surface of ordinary life seems to lift, offering a brief glimpse into the interconnectedness of existence. The artists featured here similarly turn inward as they observe the world around them. Drawing on dreams, memory, and the subconscious, they explore the blurred boundaries between mind and body, reality and imagination. Their works suggest a way of understanding ourselves and the conditions that shape our shared experience.
Ways of Living
Ways of Living is inspired by cultural theorist Stuart Hall’s idea that culture and identity are always changing and being reshaped by the shifting interplay of politics, power and history. Working with personal or collective memories, the artists featured here illuminate how fragments of the past continue to shape contemporary life, and how individual stories intersect with larger historical currents. Collectively, these works explore how a common ground might be built by actively reimagining life with one another.
States of Nature
States of Nature is inspired by ecological philosopher Timothy Morton’s call for a greater awareness of our relationship with the environment: an understanding that all life forms are fundamentally interconnected within a vast, complex network of being. This theme brings together artists whose work embraces the natural world in its abundance, beauty, and complexity. Animals, plants, air and water are highlighted as part of our shared living history, foregrounding ways of coexisting that challenge the human-centric and invite us to imagine a new relationship with the planet.
Brian Cass, Head of Hayward Gallery Touring, says: “The 10th edition of Hayward Gallery Touring’s British Art Show is an invitation to shift perspective and see the world from multiple positions at once. Curated by Ekow Eshun, the exhibition celebrates artists who navigate the complexities of contemporary life with richness, beauty and a profound commitment to human connection. As it travels to five great UK cities, A Chorus of Strangers will illuminate the power of art to transform uncertainty into a shared journey of kinship and possibility. We look forward to seeing how this exhibition evolves and resonates with communities across the nation.”
Tour details:
- Coventry (2 October 2026 – 10 Jan 2027)
- Swansea (12 Feb – 16 May 2027)
- Bristol (19 June – 19 Sept 2027)
- Sheffield (23 Oct 2027 – 20 Feb 2028)
- Newcastle Gateshead (24 March – 18 June 2028)
About British Art Show
British Art Show is the largest and most significant recurring exhibition of contemporary art in the UK. It is developed and produced by Hayward Gallery Touring, the UK’s leading contemporary art organisation producing touring exhibitions, which is part of the Southbank Centre. Taking place every five years, the show is unmatched in its national scope and has reached over 2.3 million people since its launch in 1979.
For over four decades, it has defined the trajectory of British art, highlighting new trends and reflecting the evolving cultural landscape of the UK. The exhibition has introduced many of the country’s most influential artists to millions of people across the nation, including David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Sonia Boyce, John Akomfrah and Michael Armitage.
Now in its tenth iteration, British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers continues this legacy, partnering with cities across the nation to bring the most ambitious contemporary art to regional arts venues
About Hayward Gallery Touring
Hayward Gallery Touring is the UK’s leading contemporary art organisation producing touring exhibitions. Based at Southbank Centre, Hayward Gallery Touring works with a range of artists, curators, designers and writers to develop curatorial projects and ambitious exhibitions that are often beyond the scope of a single institution.
Hayward Gallery Touring’s programme includes British Art Show—the largest and most significant exhibition of contemporary art produced in the UK—as well as thematic group shows and monographic exhibitions created for venues including museums, galleries, art centres, libraries, schools, hospitals and other unexpected partners and places.
Hayward Gallery Touring exhibitions are seen by up to half a million people in over 45 cities and towns each year.
About Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest multi-arts centre and engages the most diverse audiences of any performing arts organisation in the UK. Our biggest venue, the Royal Festival Hall (2,700 seats) is the lasting legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain and the ambition and values of that project – that arts, ideas, innovation and culture can heal communities and should be available and accessible to everyone – are still our guiding principles today.
The Southbank Centre is uniquely able to offer a wide-ranging, inclusive and world-class artistic programme spanning contemporary visual arts, music, dance, performance, literature, comedy and spoken word across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, the Hayward Gallery and our free spaces.
We are also home to the National Poetry Library, the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), two resident organisations (Kinetika Bloco and Tomorrow’s Warriors) and six resident orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra).
About Ekow Eshun
Ekow Eshun OBE FRSL is writer and curator. Described by Vogue as “the most inspired – and inspiring – curator in Britain”, he has staged acclaimed exhibitions internationally and was awarded the Association for Art History’s Curatorial Prize in 2023. A trailblazer in British culture, he made history as the first Black head of a major UK arts institution, serving as the director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. As Chairman of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, he leads one of the world’s most significant public art projects.
He is the author of several books including The Strangers, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Black Gold of the Sun, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. His writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Financial Times and The Guardian. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is the curator of the 13th Site Santa Fe International Biennial in 2027.
Swansea
About Elysium Gallery
Founded in 2007, elysium gallery is an artist led organisation that encourages pride and participation in local, visual and performing arts in an environment that promotes education, participation, experimentation, freedom, and appreciation in all creative practices.
Currently Wales’ largest artist studio provider, elysium is dedicated to fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and innovative creative community through the celebration of contemporary art and the impact it can have on people’s lives. Our mission is to provide a welcoming space where artists, art enthusiasts, and the wider community can connect, inspire, and engage with the transformative power of the arts. For further information, please visit www.elysiumgallery.com
About Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
Swansea Council’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery plays a vital role in local society and as part of the creative ecosystem across Wales. Through exhibitions, collaborative projects, social engagement, learning, outreach and education we work with local audiences and communities. Our programmes focus on excellence, equality, health and wellbeing, supporting artists and the most vulnerable in our society. We support local artists through exhibitions, awards, acquisitions and employment, as well as bringing some of the world’s leading artists to Wales. We present major exhibitions and new commissions, working in partnership with many local, national and international organisations. Our collection of artworks and ceramics belongs to the people of Swansea and forms an important part of the city’s cultural memory. Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is an Arts Council of Wales, Arts Portfolio organisation and a part of Plus Tate and Visual Arts Group Wales. Glynn Vivian is part of CELF (National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales), a network of eleven galleries bringing the national collection of contemporary art to communities across Wales, funded by the Welsh Government.
For further information, please visit www.glynnvivian.co.uk
About GS Artists
GS Artists, (Galerie Simpson Artists), is a dynamic contemporary art space based in Swansea. Founded in 2014 by artist Jane Simpson, the gallery began as an artist-run studio and has since evolved into a non-profit initiative run by a collective of freelance artists. GS Artists is known for its commitment to supporting emerging and established artists through exhibitions, residencies, and community-focused projects. The gallery fosters dialogue around contemporary issues, often hosting events that explore themes such as sustainability, identity, and social change. Our 9to90 Creative Community is now in its seventh year and is a vibrant, well established community group with weekly classes and multiple exhibitions during each year. Over the last few years GS Artists have worked on several off site projects, including the development of a support network for deaf artists based in Wales and working with the National Museum on de-colonisation of its collections in a project entitled Perspective(s)
For more information visit www.galeriesimpsonswansea.com www.9to90creativecommunity.com
About Mission Gallery
Mission Gallery celebrates and supports craft and visual art; we nurture and champion contemporary arts practice that is driven by integrity of intent, is skills based, has an appreciation of materials and consideration for audience. Co-curation is fundamental to our practice, with programmes being developed in collaboration with communities, artists and partners. We deliver artistically ambitious, inclusive exhibition and outreach programmes that are distinctively of Wales, addressing cultural inequalities by providing participation in the arts to those with limited access to them. Housed in a Grade II listed building in Swansea Marina, Mission Gallery is a unique and architecturally beautiful space – a safe space to pursue and enjoy creative practice: for all.
Mission Gallery is part-funded as an Arts Council of Wales portfolio client. We also generate income through fundraising, retail, outreach programmes, venue hires and donations.
For further information please visit Mission Gallery
About Swansea Museum
Swansea Museum, founded in 1841 and fully accredited, is the oldest public museum in Wales. Based in the Maritime Quarter, it cares for over 109,000 objects covering the city’s industrial, maritime, and social history, including ship models, nautical instruments, art, ceramics, natural history, and contemporary collections. Together, they offer a broad picture of Swansea’s cultural heritage.
Alongside its permanent displays, the museum runs a year round programme of temporary exhibitions, learning activities, and community events. Free entry and a central waterfront location ensure wide public access and support cultural participation for residents and visitors. The museum aligns with the ambitions of Swansea Council and the Museums Association by widening access, strengthening community involvement, and promoting wellbeing through heritage.
For further information please visit Swansea Museum
About Volcano Theatre, Swansea
Volcano is an independent theatre production company that also runs a diverse inner-city arts centre in a large former supermarket building in Swansea High Street. We produce ground-breaking original work and distinctive adaptations. Our mission is to be Swansea’s radical catalyst for a confident, healthy, and creative culture in Wales. Theatre-making occupies, for us, the centre of a network of practices and relationships rooted in the city of Swansea and branching out through Wales, the UK, Europe, and beyond.
For more information visit www.volcanotheatre.wales
Glynn Vivian awarded funds to preserve film and video collection for future generations