Drawing on personal and universal narratives – from complex identities to notions of memory and storytelling, this year’s exhibition demonstrates a rich diversity of voices and approaches to making. The rigorous two-part selection process was headed by a panel of three internationally renowned artists comprising James Richards, Veronica Ryan and Zadie Xa.

“I’m delighted to be selected by Zadie Xa, Veronica Ryan and James Richards as one of the artists for New Contemporaries 2022,” says Ciara. “Newcastle University was a great place to begin my artistic practice, experimenting and developing my own visual language within such a supportive Fine Art department.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to be showing my work alongside other emerging artists.”

Vital role

This year’s artists include final year students and recent graduates from arts institutions across the UK, as well as practitioners on alternative peer-to-peer learning programmes.

As well as taking part in the annual touring exhibition, artists will benefit from inclusion in the New Contemporaries online platform and will have access to a range of mentoring, talks, discussion groups and workshops through New Contemporaries bespoke Bridget Riley Artist Development Programme.

New Contemporaries has partnered with Ferens Art Gallery and Humber Street Gallery to launch Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2022 in Hull from 23 September to 27 November 2022. The show will then travel to the South London Gallery for the fifth consecutive year, from 9 December 2022 to 19 March 2023. To complement both exhibitions, New Contemporaries will produce an online platform and a range of digital activities allowing audiences to further engage with the artists’ work.

New Contemporaries has held a vital role in the UK’s contemporary art scene, showcasing emerging artists who have become the most internationally renowned artists of recent history including post-war figures Frank Auerbach, Bruce Lacey and Paula Rego; pop artists Frank Bowling, Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney; new media pioneers Stuart Brisley, Helen Chadwick and Derek Jarman; YBAs Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili and Gillian Wearing; alongside contemporary figures such as Tacita Dean, Sunil Gupta, Mark Leckey and Mona Hatoum.

In the new millennium, it has supported supported exceptional artists including Monster Chetwynd, Rachel Maclean, Haroon Mirza, Laure Prouvost and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. More recently a new generation including Hardeep Pandhal, Joanna Piotrowska, Shen Xin and Imran Perretta have all been a part of the New Contemporaries story.

Art of our time

Kirsty Ogg, Director, New Contemporaries, says: “The last two years have brought some profound challenges to our ecology, especially for emerging and early career artists in terms if the support and opportunities that they have been able to access. It has also pushed social justice issues to the fore with dynamic debates and actions taking place. This year’s exhibition presents many artists using art to confront issues of equality – social, race, gender, sexuality, as well as works which revisit history and memory to reimagine the present and future. The result is a survey of art of our time. New Contemporaries is committed to continuing to find new ways to support the community we serve to ensure that they continue to have a platform for their voices to be heard.”

Jemma Read, Global Head of Corporate Philanthropy at Bloomberg L.P, says: “Art can help us explore issues related to identity and can bring diverse communities together. We've been proud to support New Contemporaries for over twenty years to help identify emerging talent across the UK and to ensure that this unique community is able to access the structures and facilities to enable them to thrive.”

As a National Portfolio Organisation, New Contemporaries is a registered charity supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Press release adapted with thanks to New Contemporaries