Mead Gallery hosts British Art Show 10 as national tour opens on campus

A new exhibition has opened on campus in the Mead Gallery, running from 2 October 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027.

Entitled British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers, this exhibit has united 37 artists to display works exploring various socio-cultural and political issues surrounding identity and belonging in modern British society.

Displays are being co-hosted across the key cultural hubs of Coventry – in Mead Gallery, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, and Coventry University’s Delia Derbyshire Building.

The exhibit recently opened on campus, and will be followed by a tour throughout the country across the next two years.

Further exhibitions are taking place in Swansea, Bristol, and Sheffield, with a final stop in Newcastle Gateshead.

According to the Southbank Centre, British Art Show 10 looks into the concept of ‘otherness’ during times of “uncertainty and change” in modern society.

Warwick Arts Centre describes its key themes as: ‘Moments of Being’, ‘Ways of Living’, and ‘States of Nature’.

This culminates in a show exploring people’s inner worlds, the intersection of past memories with contemporary experience, and eco-conscious sentiments towards the beauty of the natural world.

The artists in the exhibition offer compelling visions of what it means to live together amidst uncertainty, difference and change

Ekow Eshun, Curator of British Art Show 10

Ekow Eshun, Curator of British Art Show 10, said that A Chorus of Strangers “explore the ways in which artists are responding to the realities of our time” by “offer compelling visions of what it means to live together amidst uncertainty, difference and change”.

The exhibit also features various art mediums, including painting, installation, and sculpture, alongside performance and sound.

The Guardian has described the British Art Show as “the UK’s largest recurring contemporary art exhibition”.

Since opening at Sheffield in 1979, the British Art Show (BAS) has been continually held every five years.

Past editions have featured influential artists including Tracey Emin, creator of ‘My Bed’ (1998).

This year’s exhibit also features pieces from Turner Prize winner Nnena Kalu.