The Vasseur BALTIC Artists Award 2022 at BALTIC, Gateshead

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor
Laleh Khorromian, Egg Rig
Laleh Khorromian, Egg Rig

The Vasseur BALTIC Artists Award 2022 at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle 9 April — 2 October 2022 Entrance is free — Visit now

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Newcastle’s BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts presents the third edition of The Vasseur BALTIC Artists’ Award 2022. This year, the award has been renamed in memory of the late curator Isabel Vasseur.

As the only international biennial award to be judged solely by artists: Mika Rottenberg, Hito Steyerl and Otobong Nkanga have each nominated a chosen, established international artist to produce an ambitious new exhibition, alongside receiving £25,000 to produce new work and £5,000 artist fee.

The award-winners’ work ranges from politically-charged installations to ancient cultures, and social projects focused on ecology, social change and rural landscapes.

Let’s take a closer look at the award-winning artists: Ima-Abasi Okon selected by Nkanga; Laleh Khorromian selected by Rottenberg; and Fernando Garcia-Dory selected by Steyerl.

Khorramian_Guardian Green, 30x72, ink, oil, crayon, mylar, polypropylene, collage on watercolor paper, ink, oil, paper on polypropelene, 2016
Khorramian_Guardian Green, 30×72, ink, oil, crayon, mylar, polypropylene, collage on watercolor paper, ink, oil, paper on polypropelene, 2016

 

Teheran-born and New York-based Laleh Khorromian, whose work is rooted in the process of making, deals with cosmological thinking of ancient cultures, mythologies, imagined worlds and natural habitats. She often employs the technique of monotype, which includes applying oil paint on to glass and putting a sheet of paper on top, thereby printing the colours and textures. The results are often otherworldly landscapes, complex and unique as each one can only be printed once. As well as prints, Khorromian makes stop motion animations, videos, drawings and collages.

Ima-Abasi Okon, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^, 2018. Installation view, there’s something in the conversation that is more interesting than the finality of (a title). Commissioned by The Showroom, London. Photo: Daniel Brooke. ©Ima-Abasi Okon. Courtesy the artist.
Ima-Abasi Okon, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^, 2018. Installation view, there’s something in the conversation that is more interesting than the finality of (a title). Commissioned by The Showroom, London. Photo: Daniel Brooke. ©Ima-Abasi Okon. Courtesy the artist.

 

Ima-Abasi Okon, on the other hand, focuses on labour, commodity, value and productivity in her conceptual work. Working between London and Amsterdam, she is interested in the ways in which knowledge is produced and shared, and her conceptual works often utilise existing objects.

Fernando Garcia-Dory

 

The third artist, Fernando Garcia-Dory maintains a practice that relies on engagement with communities and nature. His project INLAND, started in 2009, investigates the relationships between the city and the countryside, the role of culture, geopolitics and identity. Garcia-Dory’s aim was to embed contemporary art practice within the context of the rural.

The artists’ varied approaches and interests make for a show of diverse ideas and surprising visual outputs.

The Vasseur BALTIC Artists Award 2022 at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle 9 April — 2 October 2022 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near The Vasseur BALTIC Artists Award 2022 at BALTIC, Gateshead

Trakol
Newcastle
Restaurant
Trakol

On the Gateshead quayside, underneath the Tyne bridge is one of the best locations to go for a meal in Newcastle and Gateshead. In what was once derelict land on the quayside, now exists a fantastic shipping container village of purposely rusted shipping containers.

Shipley Art Gallery
Newcastle
Gallery
Shipley Art Gallery

The Shipley Art Gallery can be found on Prince Consort Road (named after Queen Victoria’s Husband – Prince Albert) and was created in 1917 after Joseph Shipley, a local solicitor, bestowed his collection of 504 paintings to create a gallery for local people.

CBK Adventures
Newcastle
Tourist Attraction
CBK Adventures

CBK Adventures deliver award-winning coastal activities including guided tours and lessons in kayaking and paddle boarding.

Quayside
Newcastle
Tourist Attraction
Quayside

The Quayside of Newcastle (and its sister town of Gateshead) is a hugely popular location in the city, featuring seven bridges spanning the impressive river, linking Newcastle to Gateshead and providing scope for many walks and tourist attraction.

Live Theatre
Newcastle
Theatre
Live Theatre

The Live Theatre has a fantastic reputation for developing, writing and producing new plays and shows every year. The Live Theatre started in 1973. It was at first a traveling theatre company, which started by telling stories that were relatable to daily life in the North East of England and presented these plays to local people – which it has continued to do to this day.

The Side Gallery
Newcastle
Gallery
The Side Gallery

The Side Gallery can be found on a small medieval street down by Newcastle’s Quayside. The Gallery itself is inside of an old warehouse, which by itself is a fantastic building to explore. Once you have entered the gallery, you are walking into one of the most important collections of film and photography in the British Isles.

Newcastle Castle
Newcastle
Tourist Attraction
Newcastle Castle

Discover the castle that gave Newcastle its name, taking in a 12th-century fortress that has been added to over the centuries.

Boiler Shop
Newcastle
Event venue
Boiler Shop

A Grade II* Listed former locomotive works from the 1820’s, now and events space hosting some of Newcastle’s most exciting event; from live performances, club nights and exhibitions, to food and drink festivals.

The Literary and Philosophical Society
Newcastle
Library
The Literary and Philosophical Society

A stone’s throw from Newcastle’s Central Station, and around the corner from Newcastle’s Castle, is The Lit and Phil. Only a few years younger than Manchester’s, The Lit and Phil is the second oldest literary and philosophical society in the United Kingdom.

Gateshead
Park
Saltwell Park

Nestled in the heart of Gateshead, the beautiful, historical grounds of Saltwell Park are a perfect place to spend the day.

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