Emerging artists find exposure in New Contemporaries 70th anniversary exhibition

Gaining recognition as an emerging artist isn’t easy. In a field in which reputation and exposure are increasingly important, Bloomberg New Contemporaries is a rarity: an annual exhibition where open submissions are accepted and where each piece is selected by a judging panel unaware of the artists’ identities. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, New Contemporaries’ annual exhibition builds on Bloomberg’s reputation for identifying and supporting diverse, emerging talent by providing budding artists with a unique pathway to a national audience within the United Kingdom.

“New Contemporaries is thoroughly democratic in that it gives people a chance to speak through their work,” notes Sacha Craddock, Chair of New Contemporaries. “So often in school, and certainly afterwards, you are pre-judged by your reputation.”

Bloomberg has a well-established history of identifying and supporting talent regardless of background — a mission that aligns closely with the platform that New Contemporaries provides for emerging artists. This shared purpose has afforded a unique partnership with significant results: in the past two decades of Bloomberg’s support, 750 artists have launched their careers from the New Contemporaries platform, including Laure Prouvost, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Conrad Shawcross, adding to other household names such as David Hockney, Damien Hirst, and Chris Ofili who also emerged through the programme.

Founded in 1949, New Contemporaries is currently celebrating its 70th year with an expanded program of events centered on its annual touring exhibition, which has been supported by Bloomberg since 2000. The 2019 Bloomberg New Contemporaries show recently opened in Leeds, in northern England, and will travel to the South London Gallery from December 6 to February 23 2020. As Craddock notes, “it’s important to expand access to the arts outside of London,” an ambition reflected throughout the New Contemporaries program.

“We have a really strong network of national partners with whom we work on the annual exhibition and other programs. It is vital that we engage with as well as represent the richness of artistic activity across the whole UK,” says Kirsty Ogg, Director of New Contemporaries.

The Bloomberg New Contemporaries exhibition features 45 artists that work in a range of mediums including painting, photography, film, sculpture, sound, and a variety of mixed media. As is the case each year, the artwork was chosen by a panel comprised of three guest selectors, themselves established artists and valuable mentors: Rana Begum, Sonia Boyce, and Ben Rivers. Submissions were open to current and recent graduates from UK art schools and alternative arts education organizations. The opportunity to take part in the exhibition, and to benefit from high profile technical and professional support, is incredibly popular, receiving approximately 1,600 submissions every year.

As New Contemporaries does not have a fixed gallery space, the team cultivates long-lasting relationships with galleries, museums and artist-led spaces in London and across the UK to develop thought-provoking exhibitions and provide opportunities for artists to help springboard their careers to the next level.

For many artists at the start of their careers, New Contemporaries is the first program which can grant a degree of name recognition. But perhaps more importantly, the knowledge that their work has emerged from a blind selection process under the eyes of established professionals can provide artists with the belief that they have something unique to contribute.

“The confidence and the validation New Contemporaries instills in you are so very important,” says Shawcross, a participant of New Contemporaries in 2001, one of Bloomberg’s first years of support. “It’s one of these enduring stepping stones that personally had a massive impact on my career and trajectory. It put me out there and endorsed me and made me see my work in a different light.”

Innovative, orthodoxy-challenging ideas are central to Bloomberg’s company culture. Both in business and art, having the confidence to innovate can often come from knowing that sufficient support structures are in place. While New Contemporaries started as a touring exhibition, over the past five years, under the directorship of Kirsty Ogg, its program has expanded to provide free studio space, mentoring and other professional development opportunities. While such practicalities might seem distant from the pursuit of art, they are nonetheless critical at a time when gaining exposure can make such a difference to an artist’s prospects.

“Art school didn’t really prepare you well for the real world,” observes Shawcross. “In art school there’s a lot of concentration on ideas. But it wasn’t until my involvement with New Contemporaries that I engaged with the skills of how to present your work or how to sell your work or how to work out your production costs.”

Recognising the value in long-term mentorship and support, Bloomberg has continued to champion Shawcross, sponsoring his 2009 commission ‘Chord’ and supporting his commission at Bloomberg Summers at the Roundhouse in 2013. Today, Shawcross is recognized as one of the leading contemporary artists in London and acts as a role model to other aspiring artists.

Bloomberg’s commitment to New Contemporaries is part of a wider program of support which serves to advance creativity, innovation, public access and new technologies in the arts. Bloomberg’s direct support of more than 270 cultural organizations in 48 cities helps connect its employees and clients to unique cultural experiences, support exciting new artists, exhibitions and performances, and drive economic growth in the cities in which we live.

Over the past 70 years of its existence, New Contemporaries has evolved with the times as tastes have changed and artwork has entered the digital era. And yet it remains true to its original mission: supporting emerging artists and providing them with an avenue to recognition based on the quality of their work.

“Much has changed over the years,” reflects Craddock. “But the sense of trust from Bloomberg has been immense. Bloomberg’s support has provided security within the principal that New Contemporaries supports emerging artists. Bloomberg has been amazing in that respect — giving us the freedom that comes from that trust.”