The community spirit at Baltic is celebrated with an inaugural Artists Award

A Lesson in Perspective, by Eric N. Mack, 2017. © Baltic 2017
A Lesson in Perspective, by Eric N. Mack, 2017. © Baltic 2017
(Image credit: John McKenzie)

There's a genuine community feeling at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Young artists are nurtured there, and more established ones return to exhibit there time after time. What’s more, the same familiar faces of gallery-goers can be seen on every visit. Perhaps this neighbourly spirit stems from Baltic's Gateshead location, where it monopolises the contemporary art scene in the area, puncturing the grey skyline like a great temple of culture.

More likely, it’s down to how the place is run. Since she took the reigns in 2015, director Sarah Munro has been on a mission to put practitioners at the heart of everything that Baltic does. No wonder the likes of Monica Bonvicini, Mike Nelson, Lorna Simpson and Pedro Cabrita Reis return to exhibit again and again. It's because of their longstanding relationship with the centre that these four, internationally esteemed artists were chosen as judges for the inaugural Artists' Award – the first award in the UK to fill the judging panel with only artists. They were each tasked with nominating an art star of the future, who would receive £25,000 to create a significant body of work, along with a £5,000 artist commission. The results now spill over two floors of Baltic.

’wildkatze’, by Toni Schmale, 2016. Photography: John McKenzie. © Baltic 2017

’wildkatze’, by Toni Schmale, 2016. © Baltic 2017

(Image credit: John McKenzie)

Unlike many award exhibitions, the work of winners Shen Xin (picked by Nelson), Eric N. Mack (Simpson), Toni Schmale (Bonvicini) and Jose Dávila (Cabrita Reis) intertwine, conceptually and physically. In Baltic's triple-height, warehouse-like top floor, Dávila's architectural assemblage of building-site RSJs and sandstone boulders (sourced from the Gateshead area) frame Mack's sweeping textile sculptures, installed directly behind.

Downstairs, the moodier, low-ceilinged third floor gallery houses the BDSM-inspired works of German sculptor Toni Schmale. They set the tone for Chinese, London-based artist Shen Xin's powerful video installation, which unpicks themes of power-play, femininity and intimacy. Four screens, arranged in a square, play videos on a loop, interrupting each other and overlapping – a purposefully frustrating, disorientating watch.

They're a very diverse bunch of artists, with contrasting perspecitves. But Baltic's friendly, welcoming feel seems to have swept the four nominees up with it, aided by the fact that there will be no standout winner of the award. ‘It was important for us not to pit the artists against each other,' explains chief curator Laurence Sillars. 'These guys are the future! Without them, Baltic, and importantly, contemporary art in general, will be consigned to history.’ In this sense, the award is a guardianship for future talent. It promotes cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary, cross-generational cooperation – and the team behind it should be applauded as much as the nominees.

Left, A Lesson in Perspective, by Eric N. Mack, 2017. Right, Handmade – By One Chinese Woman/Let the Flourish Break My Fall, by Eric N. Mack, 2017

Left, A Lesson in Perspective, by Eric N. Mack, 2017. Right, Handmade – By One Chinese Woman/Let the Flourish Break My Fall, by Eric N. Mack, 2017. © Baltic 2017

(Image credit: John McKenzie)

170 grad 2017 & 400 grad, by Toni Schmale, 2017

170 grad 2017 & 400 grad, by Toni Schmale, 2017. © Baltic 2017

(Image credit: John McKenzie)

The weaker has conquered the stronger, by Jose Dávila, 2017. Photography: John McKenzie. © Baltic 2017

The weaker has conquered the stronger, by Jose Dávila, 2017. © Baltic 2017

(Image credit: John McKenzie)

The weaker has conquered the stronger, by Jose Dávila, 2017. Photography: John McKenzie. © Baltic 2017

The weaker has conquered the stronger, by Jose Dávila, 2017. © Baltic 2017

(Image credit: John McKenzie)

Provocation of the Nightingale, by Shen Xin, 2017. Photography: John McKenzie. © 2017 BALTIC

Provocation of the Nightingale, by Shen Xin, 2017. © 2017 BALTIC

(Image credit: John McKenzie)

INFORMATION

’Baltic Artists’ Award 2017’  on show until 1 October. For more information, visit the Baltic website

ADDRESS

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
S Shore Rd, Gateshead
NE8 3BA

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Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.