London Grads Now. 21
4 November 2021 – Sunday 16 January 2022
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Rd
Chelsea
London
SW3 4RY
Saatchi Gallery dedicates major exhibition to MA graduates from London’s leading art programmes for upcoming ‘London Grads Now. 21’ exhibition
Following the success of London Grads Now. in 2020, Saatchi Gallery announces London Grads Now. 21 opening from November 4 through to January 16, 2022. This second edition aims to support and highlight the emerging artists of today and will feature over 200 artworks created and curated by MA graduates from seven of London’s leading art schools
The exhibition will include MA graduates from: Goldsmiths University (curated by LaTosha Monique), UAL: Camberwell College of Arts, UAL: Chelsea College of Arts (both curated by Juan Bolivar), UAL: Central Saint Martins (Jingwen Weng & Lingfei Rena Song), UCL: Slade School of Art (curated by Victoria Cantons), Royal College of Art (Thomas Hjelm & Lauren Bevan), and, new entry to this years’ edition Kingston School of Art (curated remotely from Tehran, Iran by Shahrzad Jahan). The exhibition identity was entirely developed by UAL: Camberwell College of Arts MA graduate Tom White.
London Grads Now. 21 will give a unique insight into an exceptional survey of teaching techniques, artistic practices, and cultural approaches – a microcosm of the very London diversity they represent.
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries said: “This exhibition will showcase some of the best new artistic talent our city has to offer and represents another brilliant reason for visitors and Londoners to come back into central London to visit our world class galleries as part of the Mayor’s Let’s Do London campaign. More than 200 artworks created by the next generation of artists will be on display – each one represents a triumph for art against the setbacks faced by so many emerging artists during the pandemic.”
The aim of London Grads Now. 21 is to present a survey of London’s new emerging art scene. Addressing meaningful dialogues of today, curators have selected artworks focusing on themes including: gender identity, environmentalism, post-pandemic reflections, UK racial politics as well as explorations of the human psyche. The works selected for London Grads Now.
21 span moving image, assemblage, installation, performance, painting, sculpture, photography and drawing. Nine galleries across two floors will be utilised for this headline show, with a dedicated exhibition space allocated to the graduates of each school.
London Grads Now. was initially conceived in 2020 as a response to the unprecedented, pandemic-induced cancellation of graduation shows, which disrupted a crucial moment in artists’ creative careers. This summer, higher education students experienced another setback with the government’s announcement of UK-wide funding cuts of 50% for arts and design courses. As a result, Saatchi Gallery remains committed to supporting graduating artists and renewed its pledge to dedicate exhibition spaces with the graduating class of 2021 through a larger and longer graduate-led major exhibition.
“The artworks selected reveal the confines of human knowledge, demonstrate the artists’ tolerance and diverse understandings of the unfamiliar and the unusual, and highlight mankind’s relentless quest for adventures and new discoveries.” – Jingwen Weng & Lingfei Rena Song, UAL: Central Saint Martins
New highlights of London Grads Now. 21 – Saatchi Gallery will curate a space featuring works from all the schools together, including large scale works.Kingston School of Art will participate for the first-time and, overcoming Covid-19 restrictions, their space will be curated by a graduate living and working in Tehran, Iran – defying traditional barriers and embracing the rise in virtual conversations.
“The London Grads Now. 21 exhibition is a beautiful opportunity to show the works of dedicated artists who persevered through the most challenging of times due to Covid-19. The selected work provides a look as to how creativity plays an active role in sustaining our collective well-being. This collection is reflective of the safe havens explored internally, which informed a diverse form of creative processes.” – LaTosha Monique, Goldsmiths University
Dates and Opening Hours
Open to the public: Thursday 4 November 2021 – Sunday 16 January 2022
10am – 6pm Monday – Sunday (last admission 5.00pm)
Saatchi Lates: Open until 9PM Friday 12 & 19 November, with more dates to be announced in due course
Admission
From £5, concessions available; under 10s go free (T&Cs apply); Saatchi Gallery Members go free
Tickets
Walk-ins welcome but pre-booking is advised. Tickets can be booked in advance online: saatchigallery.com/tickets
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©2021 Saatchi Gallery, Justin Piperger
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