British Art Show returns with more than 30 artists exploring connection in divided times

One of the UK’s biggest showcases of contemporary art returns next month, as British Art Show launches its tenth edition in Coventry before beginning its longest national tour to date.

Titled A Chorus of Strangers, the exhibition brings together work by more than 30 artists, including Turner Prize winners Jesse Darling and Jasleen Kaur, alongside Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Alvaro Barrington, Matthew Krishanu, Lindsey Mendick, Osman Yousefzada and Emma Talbot.

Curated by writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun, this year’s show looks at human connection and our responses to people we perceive as different from ourselves. Against a backdrop of political division, climate anxiety and distrust in institutions, it asks what empathy and shared imagination might look like in uncertain times.

The exhibition also offers audiences a snapshot of contemporary art being made across the UK, focusing on work from the past five years. British Art Show has been staged every five years since 1979, with previous editions featuring artists including David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Sonia Boyce and John Akomfrah. More than 2.3 million people have visited the exhibition over its history.

This time, it will travel further than ever before. After opening in Coventry, A Chorus of Strangers heads to Swansea in February 2027, followed by Bristol and Sheffield, before completing its tour in Newcastle Gateshead in summer 2028.

The exhibition forms part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary national programme and is produced by Hayward Gallery Touring.

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Photos: Courtesy of Hayward Gallery

British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers opens in Coventry on 2^nd October 2026 and runs until 10^th January 2027, before touring to Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead. For further information or to book, visit the exhibition’s website here.