British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers

British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers opens across Coventry on Tuesday 3 November, and it's a big one. The British Art Show is the UK's largest recurring contemporary art exhibition, produced by Hayward Gallery Touring at the Southbank Centre and staged only once every five years since 1979. It's reached more than 2.3 million people over the years and introduced artists like David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Sonia Boyce, John Akomfrah and Michael Armitage. This tenth edition is part of the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary national programme, and it asks how art can foster empathy in divided times, built around three themes inspired by Virginia Woolf, Stuart Hall and Timothy Morton.

Rather than a single gallery show, it works as a citywide experience across three very different Coventry venues: the Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, and the Delia Derbyshire Building at Coventry University. Ekow Eshun curated the show, which brings together 37 artists, including Nengi Omuku, Matthew Krishanu, Emma Talbot and Jasleen Kaur. Kaur's new commission, Peace and,, was acquired for the city with Art Fund support, so that's one piece that stays here long after the show has moved on. Parallel to it, Coventry Art Show, led by Art Riot Collective with Arts Council England support, runs across the city at the same time.

After its Coventry run, the exhibition tours to Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead through 2028. In Coventry, it runs from 2 October 2026 to 10 January 2027, so you've got plenty of time to work your way through the three sites. Entry is free and drop-in, so you can just turn up whenever suits you.