Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art

Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art Coventry Biennial is a social, political and critical platform for contemporary art.

Join us as we warmly welcome and introduce Rahiela Seef, the newest member of our small Coventry Biennial team. She join...
14/05/2026

Join us as we warmly welcome and introduce Rahiela Seef, the newest member of our small Coventry Biennial team. She joins us as Executive Assistant with the generous support of Midlands Four Cities (M4C).

Rahiela comments:

“Outside of this placement, I am a third year PhD candidate at Nottingham Trent University. My work focuses on diasporic East African Women’s poetry, comparing representations of faith, race, and gender defiance across the texts. I am particularly interested in spaces which inspire shared solidarity within the community and uplift marginalised voices, and bring to the role a commitment to inclusive and accessible practice. I am very grateful for the chance to work for such a meaningful and conscientious organisation and look forward to building my skills and experience over the course of this placement. The opportunity was facilitated through Midlands4Cities, for which I am thankful, and I hope to assist the team in various exhibitions and events to the best of my abilities.”

🔗Read the full article: www.coventrybiennial.com/2026/05/14/introducing-our-new-executive-assistant-2/

We were delighted to hear that Simeon Barclay has been nominated for the Turner Prize!Simeon Barclay curated Kinda Blu, ...
11/05/2026

We were delighted to hear that Simeon Barclay has been nominated for the Turner Prize!

Simeon Barclay curated Kinda Blu, an exhibition that we co-commissioned with Arts Council Collection as a part of Coventry Biennial 2025. This impactful exhibition was presented at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum and consisted of works drawn exclusively from the Arts Council Collection.

Ryan Hughes (Artistic Director and CEO, Coventry Biennial) comments:

“Simeon is a thoughtful, innovative and generous artist and it was an honour to work so closely with him on the most recent Coventry Biennial. His approach to exhibition making expertly brought together his personal interests and memories, with his exceptional understanding of art history and his unique insights into what makes cities like Coventry so special. This complex but insightful way of working is what makes his practice so engaging and powerful. I was delighted, yet not at all surprised to hear that he had been nominated for the Turner Prize. This is very well deserved and I have no doubt that his show will be exceptionally strong!”

Coventry Biennial has a long (if coincidental) relationship to the Turner Prize, Simeon’s nomination is the latest instance of artists we have commissioned or exhibited works by later being nominated for this prestigious award.

🔗Read the full article over at www.coventrybiennial.com/news

📷 Garry Jones

What was your Obsessions, Possessions moment? We're wrapping up our festival survey, and we're keen to hear from everyon...
29/04/2026

What was your Obsessions, Possessions moment? We're wrapping up our festival survey, and we're keen to hear from everyone – what you liked and disliked and what surprised you?

Your thoughts help us understand what worked, what connected with you, and where to go next. Your thoughts go a long way and only take 5 minutes!

🔗https://forms.gle/nxh3D382LRw2GBTi8

We're closing our Obsessions, Possessions survey soon – and your feedback directly influences how we programme the Bienn...
25/04/2026

We're closing our Obsessions, Possessions survey soon – and your feedback directly influences how we programme the Biennial. Whether you visited one event or many, came for the first time or have been with us since 2017, we want to hear what resonated, what surprised you, and what you'd like to see more of.

Our survey takes 5 minutes!

🔗https://forms.gle/eGAiSfxGGahSWAvL9

Congratulations to Simeon Barclay curator of Kinda Blu exhibition at Coventry Biennial 2025 who is one of 4 nominees for...
23/04/2026

Congratulations to Simeon Barclay curator of Kinda Blu exhibition at Coventry Biennial 2025 who is one of 4 nominees for this year's !

Simeon Barclay is nominated for his performance The Ruin, commissioned by the Roberts Institute of Art and also presented at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London, The Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire and New Art Exchange, Nottingham.

Alongside nominess:
🔹️Kira Freije
🔹️Marguerite Humeau
🔹️Tanoa Sasraku

The Turner Prize 2026 exhibition opens at MIMA, Middlesbrough, on 26 September 2026.

📷 Photo of Simeon Barclay, Kind Blu exhibition at Herbert Art Gallery for Coventry Biennial 2025.

📌It's three month's since the Biennial officially ended and we are collecting your thoughts! 📌First timer? Or frequent B...
21/04/2026

📌It's three month's since the Biennial officially ended and we are collecting your thoughts! 📌

First timer? Or frequent Biennial visitor?

We'd love to hear how you found our 5th Biennial Obsessions, Possessions!

🔗Fill out the survey here: https://forms.gle/qA9GCdwjwxddXQZC8

13/04/2026

Coventry Biennial is officially over!

A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who enjoyed Coventry Biennial 2025 with us!

We also extend our gratitude to the artists, curators, partners, supporters, and our small but mighty team who made this year’s Biennial possible.

If you visited the exhibitions or joined any of our events we kindly ask you to take a few moments to complete our digital survey.

Your insights will directly influence how we enhance and tailor the Biennial experience for future years.

This is your opportunity to play an active role in shaping the cultural landscape of Coventry. Thank you in advance for your participation!

Join us this month for an online discussion with Zoe Dickinson-Philips, Executive Assistant at Coventry Biennial 2025, w...
09/03/2026

Join us this month for an online discussion with Zoe Dickinson-Philips, Executive Assistant at Coventry Biennial 2025, who will discuss q***r practices in the most recent Biennial programme.

📆 Thursday 26th March, 7pm - 8.15pm
📍 Online

In the discussion, Zoe will explore how her PhD research on local q***r histories interacts with the Obsessions, Possessions theme of this year's Biennial. This will focus particularly on how q***r studies has approached locally embodied q***r practices, linking this with the Biennial's approach to inclusion and placement of q***r collections in this year's exhibitions.

This online, discursive event will conclude Zoe's time with Coventry Biennial that has been supported through a placement scheme funded by Midlands 4 Cities.

Book now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/q***r-practices-in-the-biennial-an-online-discussion-tickets-1984795255037

This Wednesday join us for the rescheduled date for Kinda Collecting: Simeon Barclay and Ian Sergeant In-Conversation fr...
09/02/2026

This Wednesday join us for the rescheduled date for Kinda Collecting: Simeon Barclay and Ian Sergeant In-Conversation from 6pm (Online event)

Join artist Simeon Barclay (curator of Kinda Blu) and Dr Ian Sergeant (Senior Curator, Global Majority Collections, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery) for a discussion around national collections and the ways that they have local relevance and meaning.This event brings together Simeon’s experience of working with the Arts Council Collection and Ian’s West Midlands-based expertise for an insightful and discursive event.

We hope you are able to join us for our FINAL event of Coventry Biennial 2025.

Free tickets available at our website www.coventrybiennial.com

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