New London show offers a glimpse of tomorrow’s art sensations

Ayaba – Rainha – Queen, 2023, moving image, by Sam (Ayrton Mendes)

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)

A crop of talented emerging artists are being spotlighted in the New Contemporaries exhibition, opening soon at London’s Camden Art Centre. Jury panel members and fellow artists Helen Cammock, Sunil Gupta and Heather Phillipson have handpicked 55 creatives from art schools and learning programmes around the UK for the exhibition which unites a diverse mix of medias and themes.

‘New Contemporaries’: tomorrow’s art sensations

art — Margate, 2023, oil on canvas, by Jeremy Scott

The annual show has been offering an insight into the emerging contemporary art scene since 1949, and previous participants have included Chantal Joffe, George Shaw and Conrad Shawcross. Work featured in this year’s exhibition encompasses textiles, moving images, performance and traditional oil paintings, with pieces by the likes of Zimbabwean interdisciplinary artist Zayd Menk, Portuguese artist Sam (Ayrton Mendes), Chilean figurative artist Jil Mandeng and London-based painter Jeremy Scott. As the cost of living, studios and further education all continue to rise, this show, alongside New Contemporaries’ mentoring, studio bursary and residency programme, offers an invaluable opportunity to support artists with the aim to make their practices sustainable in the long-term.

art — Grasslands 1, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas, by Jil Mandeng

practices sustainable in the long-term. ‘Fifty years since our initial collaboration [with Camden Art Centre] marks a great history of championing artists for both organisations,’ says Kiera Blakey, director of New Contemporaries. ‘The cultural landscape has changed enormously in that time, and we know our platform is more vital than ever. We look forward to connecting the urgent voices of emerging artists today with new audiences in London.’

‘New Contemporaries’ is on show from 19 January-14 April at Camden Art Centre

camdenartcentre.org, newcontemporaries.org.uk

A version of this story appears in the January 2024 Next Generation Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!

art — Mixed-media sculpture, 2022, by Zayd Menk

Hannah Silver is a writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, spanning national newspapers and independent magazines. Currently Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*, she has overseen offbeat art trends and conducted in-depth profiles for print and digital, as well as writing and commissioning extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury since joining in 2019.