newcontemporaries
About New Contemporaries
New Contemporaries (1988) Ltd

Chair
Sacha Craddock

Vice Chair
Jill Ritblat

Company Secretary
Sue Prevezer

Directors
Eileen Daly
John Huntingford
Rebecca King Lassman
Des Lawrence
Mike Nelson
Andrea Schlieker
Clarrie Wallis
Rebecca Warren

Administrator
Bev Bytheway

Website
Platform-3



How to Apply
New Contemporaries gives people still at, or just after, art school the opportunity to show their work in the context of a professional art gallery. It is important in that it takes the work out of the educational context and into the real. The relationship between education and art is known, respected, but strangely not recognised enough. As an organisation New Contemporaries is, however, totally independent of the art school as it allows applicants a democratic chance for the work itself to shine through. Reputations that might otherwise become set within the art school system are able to break out.

The annual exhibition is selected from slide, film, video, cd, proposal, and then at a second stage from a shortlist of the work itself. New Contemporaries is one of only two open exhibitions in the country. The importance of testing, looking, judging without knowledge of school, age, works both ways. The selection of selector is, therefore, key. As a principle it is important to convey a very basic sense of possibility to every art school student or recent graduate considering applying. The selection is done by artists and writers and often a selector will have also been in New Contemporaries, a number of years before. The intense and detailed selection process provides the selector the opportunity to consider art in a broad context, in a visual and aural sea far removed from their individual career.

Although there is no limit put on the number of artists to be shown each year, the number chosen from out of over 1,200 applicants has averaged almost uncannily, at around thirty-five. Independent of place, New Contemporaries is an annual exhibition without a building, has had beneficial relationships with many important galleries. The exhibition travels and this movement, which is an integral part of the structure, means a different relationship to audience and place. The exhibition provides galleries, such as Cornerhouse or Camden Arts Centre, a ready-made exhibition of the very newest and best contemporary art.

News New Contemporaries 2008 57 artists selected by Ken Lum, Ceal Floyer and Richard Billingham to take part in the biggest New Contemporaries exhibition yet, opening at the Liverpool Biennial in September 2008. Details of the artists and their images coming soon
newcontemporaries 2007 Cornerhouse, Manchester An exhibition of the most promising new talent to emerge from art schools across the country, including artists from the North West, opens at Cornerhouse, Manchester on Fri 23 November 2007. Foreword by Sacha Craddock
Subscriber Areas
  Artists Area
  Press Area
  Supporters Area
Arts Council England logo a foundation logo Sponsored by bloomberg