Talented art students selected for exhibition

The work of four University of Wolverhampton students has been selected for a multi-site exhibition in Birmingham designed to showcase the best new talent in the region.

New Art West Midlands 2013 will provide a unique opportunity for recent graduates from the region to launch their careers through exhibiting at these galleries in the spring.

The four students from Wolverhampton are Justyna Ptak; Matthew Evans; Michelle Taylor and Rashid Khan.

Led by Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in partnership with the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham and artist-led gallery and studios Grand Union, the programme was open to students from the West Midlands’ five university art schools.

Four graduate artists were also selected to receive a bursary, including Rashid Khan.

The exhibitions will be at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Barber Institute and Grand Union, Birmingham from 15 February to 19 May 2013.

Following a call for applications in April of this year, three nationally renowned artists/curators selected the work for exhibition. The selectors were Jeremy Millar, Artist and Tutor in Art Criticism at the Royal College of Art, Lynda Morris, Chair of Curation and Art History at Norwich University College of the Arts and Keith Piper, Artist and Programme Leader of MA Fine Art, Middlesex University.

Professor Dew Harrison, from the University of Wolverhampton’s School of Art & Design, said: “We are delighted to have had four of our students selected for the New Art West Midlands exhibition of the best new talent in the region, with one also securing a bursary. This is testament to the quality of our student work and the excellent staff support they receive. We congratulate these four emerging artists and wish them every success with their promising careers.”

Professor Ann Sumner, Director of Birmingham Museums Trust said: “It’s exciting to see the wealth of artistic talent from graduates in the region and to provide a platform for these artists at such a pivotal moment in their careers. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the other venues in what we hope will be the first of an on-going annual programme of similar activity. This multi-site exhibition will enable audiences to see the breadth of artistic activity happening from some of the region’s best emerging artists.”

Wendy Law at Turning Point West Midlands said: ‘Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the Barber Institute and Grand Union are providing a significant opportunity for these artists at a crucial time in their artistic development and visitors to the galleries will be able to see work by some of our most talented artists now coming through the region’s universities.’

New Art West Midlands is part funded by Arts Council England and Birmingham City University via Turning Point West Midlands. For more information visit http://tpwm.squarespace.com

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