Press release archive: 2022
2022 Press releases
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders will discuss his new book It’s OK To Be Angry About Capitalism on 23 February 2023.
The Southbank Centre announces the return and last ever performances of Hackney Showroom & Travis Alabanza’s Burgerz and the London Premiere of Australia’s Circa’s Humans 2.0 as part of its 2023 performance and dance programme, featuring international work and cross artform collaborations.
The Southbank Centre announces its Spring 2023 Literature Season taking place from the new year until the end of May. The season welcomes a brand new partnership with Intelligence Squared which brings together leading experts to tackle today’s most topical debates, as well as a powerful line-up of authors, activists, poets and politicians in conversation.
The Southbank Centre’s annual Imagine Children’s Festival returns from 8-18 February 2023 with a vibrant cross-arts programme, offering creative and playful experiences for families to make memories together and enjoy the February half term.
The Hayward Gallery presents an exciting programme of exhibitions and installations for 2023, including the first major survey of work by the internationally acclaimed British artist Mike Nelson, a pioneering new group show Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis, providing an in-depth exploration of the climate emergency featuring themes of care, interdependence, emotional and spiritual connection, and activism, and the largest retrospective to date of renowned Japanese artist and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
The Southbank Centre has today announced that the next curator of its annual, award-winning Meltdown festival – the longest-running artist-curated festival in the world – will be French phenomenon Christine and the Queens. Announced ahead of his Southbank Centre debut this evening, Christine and the Queens will curate the next edition of the legendary festival, which will run Friday 9 June until Sunday 18 June 2023.
The Southbank Centre is delighted to announce the appointment of five new members to its Board of Governors. The new Board members bring in significant new expertise, particularly in the fields of social change, digital communication and philanthropy. They officially take up their posts in early December 2022.
The Southbank Centre today announces the return of Cowpuncher My Ass, the genre-defying performance piece commissioned by the Southbank Centre with choreographer Holly Blakey, original score by Mica Levi and costume design by Andreas Kronthaler for Vivenne Westwood.
The Southbank Centre has today announced its latest line-up of genre-blurring, pioneering artists who will perform in early 2023 as part of its experimental multi-artform series, the Purcell Sessions . Hosted in the Purcell Room in the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, the series spotlights emerging artists, ambitious auteurs and more to explore the boundaries of their creativity in the space.
A firm fixture of London’s seasonal festivities, the Southbank Centre’s Winter Festival returns with a joyful programme of events, exhibitions and performances plus the ever popular Winter Market. From curling to choirs, Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol to Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show, the Winter Festival is set to bring festive cheer to the South Bank for people of all ages to enjoy.
Showing until 8 January 2023, Hayward Gallery presents Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art, the first large-scale group exhibition in the UK to explore how contemporary artists have used the medium of clay in inventive ways.
The Southbank Centre, its six Resident Orchestras and wider orchestral partners have today announced Classical Music Spring/Summer 2023, an exciting, varied programme of over a hundred events featuring a wealth of established and emerging artists from the UK and internationally.
The Southbank Centre today announces new comedy shows this Christmas; two popular podcasts brought as live shows bringing merriness and mirth out of the headphones and onto the stage.
The Royal Festival Hall hosts Off Menu: The Christmas Dinner Party (20 December), a festive edition of the hugely popular ‘Off Menu’ podcast, which returns after its sell-out shows last summer, while The Guilty Feminist Presents Camp as Christmas (3 December), brings a star-studded, all LGBTQ+ line-up to the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
The Southbank Centre is incredibly pleased to announce a surprise double-bill performance from neo-soul icon Erykah Badu, her only UK dates scheduled for the remainder of the year.
Apple and the Southbank Centre today launched a groundbreaking partnership to support Black creatives in the UK.
The ambitious programme is part of Apple’s global Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) — and represents Apple’s first REJI expansion into Europe. Together, Apple and the Southbank Centre will support emerging Black talent, helping to provide the tools and resources for aspiring creatives in the UK to develop their own voices and position themselves for long-lasting careers in their chosen fields.
Adem Holness has been appointed Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre to lead its contemporary music programme.
The Southbank Centre and pioneering independent labels Ninja Tune and Big Dada have today announced the launch of a free joint education programme, Emerging Music Professionals to develop the next generation of diverse talent in the music industry.
Koestler Arts is proud and thrilled to announce that their fifteenth Annual UK Exhibition in partnership with the Southbank Centre this October will be curated by Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist, Ai Weiwei. 2022 marks the 60th anniversary of the Koestler Awards and Ai Weiwei wants this landmark exhibition to be ‘the most ambitious yet’.
A new and striking commission from artist Monira Al Qadiri is unveiled on the Southbank Centre’s iconic Riverside Terrace, launching the second year of a three-year commissioning partnership with the Bagri Foundation.
British Art Show 9 (BAS9), Hayward Gallery Touring’s landmark contemporary art exhibition, will culminate in Plymouth this autumn (8 October – 23 December), after successful showings in Aberdeen (10 July – 10 October 2021), Wolverhampton (22 January – 10 April 2022) and Manchester (27 May – 4 September 2022).
The Southbank Centre announces a major new autumn programme for its innovative contemporary culture series Purcell Sessions, which champions artistic expression across music, performance, visual art, literature and spoken word, and features an exciting mix of creatively adventurous and diverse artists.
Gillian Moore CBE is to become the Southbank Centre’s Artistic Associate, taking up the role in the autumn of 2022.
Gillian will report to Mark Ball, Artistic Director, and among her responsibilities she will develop new, large scale projects and collaborative initiatives that support music and creative engagement at the Southbank Centre, as well as create new music-focused digital content for the Southbank Centre’s digital channels.
The Southbank Centre’s biennial Unlimited, the major UK festival celebrating the work of disabled artists in partnership with the Unlimited commissioning fund, today announces details of its ambitious multi-art programme platforming the extraordinary creative work of artists who identify as being disabled, D/deaf, neurodivergent and those experiencing chronic illness or mental health conditions.
From 29 June to 18 September 2022, the Hayward Gallery presents In the Black Fantastic, the UK’s first major exhibition dedicated to the work of Black artists who use fantastical elements to address racial injustice and explore alternative realities.
Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book features crucial climate voices including Kate Raworth, Naomi Klein and Margaret Atwood. The event, in collaboration with Penguin Live at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, will be live streamed for free around the world. The festival lineup features UK & international literary names such as Malorie Blackman, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Karl Ove Knausgård and George Saunders. Well-known names include YouTuber Adam B, Minnie Driver, Graham Norton and Jon Snow.
Music legend, fashion icon and film star Grace Jones delivered a stunning performance to close her curated edition of the Southbank Centre ’s Meltdown festival.
Artist Jyll Bradley connects the urban landscape of the South Bank to the rural hop gardens of Kent with a vibrant, interactive outdoor installation, The Hop.
Following sold-out seasons in the 2018 Perth Festival and Black Swan’s 2019 season, award-winning play You Know We Belong Together brings its celebrated portrayal of living with Down syndrome to the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room from Thursday 18 – Saturday 20 August for its UK Premiere.
This summer the Southbank Centre is exploring Black art and popular culture with an extraordinary season of multi-artform events, featuring outdoor art installations, music, literature, poetry and performance as well as a wealth of free-to-attend events.
Hayward Gallery Touring’s landmark exhibition British Art Show 9 ( BAS9 ) will continue its national tour, opening in Manchester on Friday 27 May, following its successful iterations in Aberdeen (10 July – 10 October 2021) and Wolverhampton (22 January – 10 April 2022).
From Friday 29 April, riverside pop-ups from Truffle, Oh My Dog!, SNOG, The Hop Locker and Elephant Juice will provide the perfect sun-soaked spot to hang out all summer long.
Rachel Thomas has been appointed Chief Curator of the Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre. Rachel joins the gallery on 28 April 2022 from the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), where she was Head of Exhibitions and Senior Curator since 2002.
The Southbank Centre today announces a programme to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Taking place across Wednesday 1 – Sunday 5 June 2022, the Southbank Centre’s eclectic programme of Jubilee events encompasses both “Official” and “Alternative” Royal Command Performances alongside classical music, punk, dance, performance and parties, to appeal to diverse and wide-ranging audiences.
The Southbank Centre and Grace Jones have today revealed the third and final names of artists who are performing during this year’s Meltdown festival, running Friday 10 to Sunday 19 June 2022. In addition to the new acts, the eclectic free public programme, which brings together a huge number of performers and activities inspired by Grace Jones’ career, has also been announced.
The Southbank Centre has today revealed its Autumn/Winter 2022/23 classical music programme – the first edition under the curatorship of Head of Classical Music Toks Dada since arriving at the Southbank Centre. The Autumn/Winter programme, which runs from September 2022 until January 2023, emphasises the Southbank Centre’s commitment to innovation and diversity.
The Southbank Centre announces its Summer 2022 Literature Season taking place from May to September, featuring a diverse range of musicians and authors, renowned thinkers and contemporary poets.
Amy Ross has been appointed Director of Development at the Southbank Centre. Currently Director of Development at Art Fund, Amy will join the Southbank Centre in June 2022 and will report to Elaine Bedell, CEO.
PRS Foundation and the Southbank Centre announce today pieces of new music to be performed at their critically acclaimed free festival, New Music Biennial 2022.
A new 24-hour-long film, Primetime, 2022, by Anthea Hamilton has been unveiled this week on the elevated terrace next to the Hayward Gallery, overlooking the Royal Festival Hall. The film launches this year’s expanding programme of striking outdoor installations, offering free access to art for all.
In solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to support the Ukrainian community in London, the Southbank Centre is delighted to announce Slava Ukraini – a specially curated night of music, poetry and spoken word with a line-up that includes Ukrainian and British artists performing in person and via live link-up from Ukraine.
Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme 2019-22, concludes with a series of exhibitions at Firstsite, Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange and Sunderland Culture
The Southbank Centre and Grace Jones have today revealed the next wave of artists who will be performing during this year’s eagerly anticipated Meltdown festival, running Friday June 10 until Saturday 19 June. Spanning hard hitting punk to folk and experimental electronica, the latest additions capture Grace Jones’ unparalleled influence and connection to the world’s music scene.
As part of Social Prescribing Week (4-11 March 2022), the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) and the Southbank Centre are hosting The Social Prescribing Show on Friday 4 March, bringing together expert contributors from a variety of sectors.
Continuing its popular programme of striking outdoor installations, offering free access to art for all, the Hayward Gallery announces a series of newly commissioned artworks from award-winning artists Anthea Hamilton, Jyll Bradley and Monira Al Qadiri .
From 29 June to 18 September 2022, the Hayward Gallery presents In the Black Fantastic, the UK’s first major exhibition dedicated to the work of Black artists who use fantastical elements to address racial injustice and explore alternative realities.
The Southbank Centre is relaunching its free monthly dance sessions in the form of a new series called ‘ Mix & Move. ’ The initiative is part of the multi-arts centre’s Arts & Wellbeing programme, which is committed to finding innovative ways of increasing access to free enriching social encounters that offer wellbeing benefits.
From 9 February to 15 May 2022, the Hayward Gallery presents Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child, the first major retrospective of this legendary artist to focus exclusively on the works that she made with fabrics and textiles during the final chapter of her storied career.
These works, many of which have never been shown before in the UK, comprise one of the greatest late career chapters in the history of art.
Running from 30 March until 3 April 2022, the eclectic festival of paid and free events celebrates daring new frontiers of sound on topics from climate change to the female body
Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City curated by Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid CBE explores modern city life from a female perspective.
Launching at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in May 2022, this large exhibition of over 60 works presents a wide array of modern and contemporary art, including painting, sculpture, photography and film.
Arts Council Collection presents The World We Live In: Art and the Urban Environment, an exhibition of painting, sculpture, photography and film that explores urban life. Featuring 29 works created between 1950 and 2020, the exhibition launches at Leicester Museums & Art Galleries in February 2022 before touring to other venues across the UK.