British Art Show 9
British Art Show (BAS) is a landmark touring exhibition, widely recognised as the most important recurrent exhibition of contemporary art produced in the UK. Held every five years, it brings the most innovative and exciting contemporary art produced in this country to four UK cities.
I was a significant part of the BAS9 team which comprised of colleagues from the University, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Creative Black Country, Hayward Gallery Touring and Southbank Centre. My
role was to lead the social media coverage for the University’s part of the show and all associated digital content creation.
Image: Stuart Whipps
Some of the key achievements include:
Leading on day-to-day management of BAS9 social media content which included videography, photography and sound recording.
Conducting a series of artist interview and ambassador videos to tell the authentic story of BAS9.
Managing the exhibition tech aspects at the School of Art.
Design of promotional material for print, web and social media.
Building relationships and liaising with local media and organisations to promote the show to a wide-ranging audience.
“BAS9 has seen more artists, young people, teachers, public & community groups from the Black Country engage in contemporary art than ever before. I hope it will kick start a cultural legacy for years to come”
Maggie Ayliffe – Head of Wolverhampton School of Art, 2018 - 2023
The BAS9 campaign amassed a digital audience of over 1 million, accruing over 5000 social media engagements, 3000 Twitter retweets, 753 Twitter likes and just under 4000 Instagram likes.
Image: Stuart Whipps
Along with successes on social media, it was also great to utilise more traditional marketing approaches, such as securing a high-profile interview on the BBC WM Breakfast Show for our Head of School to promote the show. Through my professional network, I also negotiated access to and created assets for all the LED advertising screens on Premier League match days at Wolverhampton Wanderers for the duration of BAS9 at Wolverhampton. This helped us to reach a local, and visiting audience who are not typically engaged in arts and culture.
Image: Stuart Whipps
"Tim’s great strength is bringing human stories to life and creating a space for the people who work and study in the school to tell their stories. This skill came to the fore when the School of Art hosted British Art Show 9 and Tim, became our digital champion, working with artists, curators, students and staff to successfully bring the BAS9 experience to life and our work and opportunities to new audiences."
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Maggie Ayliffe, Head of Wolverhampton School of Art, 2018 - 2023