Following an open call, which received 220 submissions, The New Art Gallery Walsall has acquired 33 works by 31 West Midlands-based artists to create the new Twenty Twenty Collection. This closed capsule collection represents the significant events of the past 12 months and commemorates this important historical moment that has impacted everyone’s lives.
The works, spanning a variety of media from collage and photography to drawings and paintings, respond to world events over the last tumultuous year, from the Covid19 pandemic and Lockdown to the Black Lives Matter movement and Brexit.
The chosen artists’ work will be profiled on the Gallery’s website and social media channels during this year and be exhibited at the Gallery in a dedicated exhibition in our Community Gallery in early 2022. This will coincide with a solo exhibition by Keith Piper (whose work Surveillance: Tagging the Other was also acquired with funding from Contemporary Art Society, in response to the events of last year) and the British Art Show taking place in Wolverhampton, bringing significant attention to the region, and further increasing the profile of West Midlands artists.
In addition, over the last year, the Gallery has supported five artists through remote residencies. A work produced from each of the 2020 ‘Stay At Home’ residences are being acquired, including a sufra (or prayer mat) made by Birmingham-based artist Farwa Moledina. We are currently working with the national charity Outside In, which supports artists who face significant barriers in participating in the arts, through disability or social circumstance, on providing two residencies to artists they support. The Gallery remains committed to supporting West Midlands’ artists, creatives and freelancers during this challenging period.
Subject to updates from the Government, we will reopen from Tuesday 18 May 2021. Please keep an eye on our website and social media channels for further updates.
Director Stephen Snoddy said, ‘It is important for The New Art Gallery Walsall to acquire this collection to leave a legacy for future generations to document the events of the past year and also at the same time support artists in the West Midlands during this very difficult time.’
The Twenty Twenty Collection Artists
Adele Mary Reed, Alex Billingham, Andrew Roberts, Bailey Nock, Charlotte Moore,
Corinne, Cristina Celestini, Crow Dillon-Parkin, Edgington, Helen Grundy,
Jessica Ladkin, Joanne Masding, Laura Onions, Lindsay Pritchard,
Lucy Fiona Morrison, Mark Murphy, Matt Greenhill, Michele Harris, Neil McNaught
Paul Newman, Rachel Magdeburg, Rachel Magdeburg, Rupi Dhillon, Ruth Spencer,
Ryan Christopher, Sally Butcher, Sally Claire Payen, Sherrie Edgar, Sinéad Patching,
Sophia Moffa, Vincent Louis Stokes, Yasmin Agilah-Hood
Top Photo: Sherrie Edgar, Isolation Series 11, 18 April 2020, photograph (image courtesy the artist)