Jerwood Survey III Arrives at Site Gallery in Sheffield This Autumn

The Jerwood Survey III exhibition is set to make its way to Sheffield's Site Gallery, offering an exciting showcase of cutting-edge contemporary art by ten emerging UK-based artists. Known for its inclusive and non-institutional approach to selecting participants, the Jerwood Survey continues to provide a snapshot of the most innovative and thought-provoking visual arts practices today.

This edition, first launched at Southwark Park Galleries in April 2024, will be available to the Sheffield public from 26 September 2024 to 26 January 2025.

This touring exhibition features a diverse range of disciplines, including photography, installation, sound, sculpture, and moving images, reflecting key contemporary themes such as colonialism, climate change, gender identity, and spirituality. The exhibition represents an opportunity to engage with fresh, bold artistic voices responding to urgent global issues.

A snapshot of the UK’s artistic landscape

Jerwood Survey has earned a reputation as a major platform for early-career artists, offering them the opportunity to create and exhibit new works while engaging with local and national audiences. Unlike traditional institutional selections, this exhibition relies on a collaborative approach, where established artists nominate emerging talents.

The third edition of Jerwood Survey III brings together ten artists from across the UK, each contributing a unique perspective through their work. The exhibition explores an array of artistic practices, addressing contemporary concerns through multidisciplinary approaches that range from installation and sculpture to sound and moving images. The project showcases the diversity of artistic voices, reflecting the breadth of themes that dominate current artistic discourse. Paul Nataraj’s work, for instance, navigates the relationship between colonialism, sound, and identity, while Ebun Sodipo focuses on the narratives of black trans women through hybrid sculptures.

In addition to Site Gallery, Jerwood Survey III has already been presented at g39 in Cardiff and will travel to Edinburgh's Collective in 2025, marking its Scottish debut. This collaboration between national galleries allows the exhibition to reach a broad audience, giving early-career artists invaluable exposure.

Featured artists and their works

Jerwood Survey III is notable for the wide-ranging and interdisciplinary approaches of its selected artists. The chosen ten artists bring innovative practices that probe into deeply personal and global concerns. Among the highlights are:

• Kandace Siobhan Walker, whose work integrates personal history with social movements, exploring themes of spirituality and climate crisis.
• Ebun Sodipo, who presents an intricate brass sculpture informed by the lived experiences of black trans women, emphasising embodiment and memory.
• Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh, whose mixed-media pieces interrogate postcolonial trauma and ecological decline, fusing inherited memories with contemporary societal issues.
• Sam Keelan, known for surreal, queer narratives, presents a silent film portraying tender domestic moments.
• Philippa Brown, whose architectural sculpture explores collective spirituality and transformation, combining vibrant imagery with symbolic objects.

These works not only reflect the diverse experiences and backgrounds of their creators but also engage audiences with timely and relevant themes.

Curatorial insights and public engagement

Laura Clarke, Head of Programme at Site Gallery, expressed excitement about bringing Jerwood Survey III back to Sheffield. In her words, the exhibition

"showcases the work of 10 brilliant artists" and offers Sheffield audiences "an interesting mix of artistic practices."

The exhibition is not just about presenting art but also about engaging with the public in meaningful ways. Site Gallery's curatorial team has worked closely with the artists to adapt and reimagine the exhibition for the Sheffield venue, ensuring that it speaks to the local context while maintaining its national and global relevance.

Charlotte Baker, Deputy Director of Southwark Park Galleries, highlighted the importance of the exhibition in the current socio-political climate, emphasising the vital role artists play in navigating joy, resistance, and global issues. According to Baker, the diversity of voices in the exhibition offers essential insights into both personal and global histories, underscoring the role of community and empathy in art.

A wider tour: Cardiff to Edinburgh

Before arriving in Sheffield, Jerwood Survey III had a successful run at g39 in Cardiff, where it was well-received by local audiences. The exhibition will next move to Collective in Edinburgh, marking its first presentation in Scotland. Each venue on the tour contributes its own unique character to the exhibition, helping to create a dialogue between the artists and the varied regional audiences they encounter.

This tour highlights the Jerwood Arts' commitment to supporting emerging talent while ensuring that contemporary art reaches diverse and wide-ranging audiences across the UK. The participating galleries, including Southwark Park Galleries and Collective, have a strong history of nurturing early-career artists, making them ideal partners for this innovative project.

The artists and their voices

The exhibition shines a spotlight on complex, global issues seen through the lens of contemporary British life. The selected artists each offer a distinctive voice:

• Che Applewhaite presents a photographic paper sculpture that explores diasporic identity and colonial legacies.
• Alliyah Enyo, from Glasgow, combines sculpture and sound to evoke mythic and ecological narratives.
• Aqsa Arif, also based in Glasgow, delves into identity and migration, drawing inspiration from South Asian folktales.
• MV Brown investigates the intersections of gender and technology, employing cutting-edge tools like AI and CGI to question the nature of reality.

These voices are crucial not only for their aesthetic contributions but also for their ability to address broader societal concerns. Through their work, the artists reflect on the tensions between tradition and modernity, personal and collective memory, and the role of art in responding to social, political, and environmental challenges.

Connecting artists and audiences

One of the core aims of the Jerwood Survey is to foster connections between early-career artists and their audiences. Site Gallery, known for championing new media, performance, and experimental practices, is a fitting venue for this edition. It continues its tradition of working closely with artists to develop ambitious projects and ensure that contemporary art remains at the forefront of public engagement.

The public programme accompanying Jerwood Survey III will further deepen these connections, with workshops, talks, and events designed to engage local communities in Sheffield. This mirrors Site Gallery's wider mission to nurture artistic talent and create accessible, thought-provoking exhibitions that resonate with local and international audiences alike.

Supporting early-career artists

Established in 2018, Jerwood Survey responds to a critical need in the art world: providing emerging artists with the space, time, and resources to create new work. This third edition builds on the successes of previous iterations, continuing to provide an invaluable platform for early-career artists.

All four gallery partners involved in this edition — Southwark Park Galleries, g39, Site Gallery, and Collective — have a shared commitment to supporting artistic development. By working together, they ensure that Jerwood Survey not only brings exciting new work to the public but also creates lasting connections within the arts community.

Through funding, exhibition opportunities, and public events, the project allows artists to expand their networks and engage with new audiences across the UK. For many of the participating artists, this experience is a stepping stone to further career success and artistic development.

What Next

Jerwood Survey III represents a significant moment for early-career artists in the UK, providing them with the platform and support needed to create and share new works. As the exhibition continues its tour, it will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on audiences in Sheffield, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, showcasing the rich diversity of contemporary art practices emerging across the UK.

Through its unique approach to artist selection and its commitment to supporting emerging voices, Jerwood Survey remains a vital force in the UK’s cultural landscape, championing bold new artistic perspectives and engaging with some of the most pressing issues of our time.