The programme of special exhibitions for the coming year at Aberdeen Art Gallery and Aberdeen Maritime Museum has been announced today (Wednesday, December 18).
Working with local, national and international partners, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums are bringing must-see exhibitions to the city, giving local people opportunities to see world-class art and design close to home, and driving tourist visits to the Granite City.
Notable highlights of the special exhibitions programme at Aberdeen Art Gallery include the first major solo exhibition in Scotland by internationally acclaimed artist Haroon Mirza, who brings his exploration of waveforms in sound and light to Aberdeen, a celebration of iconic British fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes in the year of her 80th birthday and a welcome return for the popular BP Portrait Award.
In 2020, three major exhibitions will be presented in the BP Galleries at Aberdeen Art Gallery:
Haroon Mirza: Waves and Forms
Saturday, March 21– Sunday, June 7, 2020
The first major solo show in Scotland by the acclaimed artist Haroon Mirza, Waves and Forms highlights the artist’s ongoing exploration of waveforms: how they are perceived, the emotional and physical responses they create and the various ways in which we relate to them. The galleries will feature new and reconfigured artworks that test the interplay and friction between sound waves, light waves, water and electric current. Mirza’s artworks are united by an enduring preoccupation and engagement with diverse disciplines including physics, shamanism, artificial intelligence and astrology.
Presented in partnership with hrm199, the studio founded by Haroon Mirza and the John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton.
Zandra Rhodes: 50 Years of Fabulous
Saturday, July 4 – Sunday, September 20, 2020
Celebrating five decades of iconic design, Zandra Rhodes: 50 Years of Fabulous is the largest ever exhibition dedicated to British design legend Dame Zandra Rhodes. Her unique use of bold prints, fiercely feminine and instantly recognizable patterns and theatrical colour palettes have sealed Dame Zandra’s place in design history. Her pink hair, statement makeup and wearable art jewellery continue to stamp her personal identity on the international world of fashion. This comprehensive exhibition explores 50 years of a fascinatingly varied career, presenting influential looks, original textiles and archive material.
Organised by the Fashion and Textile Museum, London.
BP Portrait Award
Saturday, October 10, 2020 – Sunday, January 23, 2021
The BP Portrait Award is the world’s most prestigious portrait painting competition. For over 40 years the Award has encouraged artists to develop portraiture in their work, attracting some 40,000 entries from artists in more than 100 countries. Aberdeen Art Gallery has a long relationship with the National Portrait Gallery and BP, having hosted the BP Portrait Award exhibition in the city since 1993. Its return to Aberdeen is keenly anticipated.
Organised by the National Portrait Gallery
Councillor Marie Boulton, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson, said: “Following the successful re-opening of Aberdeen Art Gallery, we are thrilled to be announcing this exciting programme of special exhibitions for 2020. As well as offering local people a range of opportunities to see world-class art in their home city, these high-profile exhibitions will be an important driver for tourist visits to Aberdeen, by people who want to experience the city’s vibrant year-round calendar of exhibitions, festivals and other cultural events.”
In addition to the BP Galleries, the recently completed redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery has created a further two special exhibition spaces. Gallery 2 will present work by local schools, groups and societies. Gallery 3 is a flexible space which will be used in a variety of ways including hosting Artist-in-Residence opportunities as well partnerships with national organisations featuring both historic and contemporary loans, work by local artists, and new media, textiles and works on paper from our collections.
Highlights of the exhibitions programme in Galleries 2 and 3 include:
Saturday, February 22– Sunday, May 24, 2020
The Bill Gibb Line
Explore new narratives across poetry and fashion, inspired by Aberdeenshire-born international fashion designer Bill Gibb. Writer and performer Shane Strachan has collaborated with Fashion and Textile Design students at Gray’s School of Art to explore Gibb’s life and work. The resulting exhibition and film celebrate the personas we adopt when we dress up in an outfit or inhabit a poetic voice. To coincide with the exhibition, a major two-day symposium exploring Bill Gibb’s legacy and his links to the north-east of Scotland takes place on 19 and 20 March, organised jointly by AAGM and Gray’s School of Art / The Robert Gordon University.
The Bill Gibb Line: commissioned by Look Again Festival 2019, supported by RGU Art & Heritage Collections.
Previously announced and continuing until Monday, April 13
Cartomania: A Victorian Photographic Phenomenon
Cartes de visite were the first form of affordable mass-produced photography. These images of families and friends, royalty and celebrities of the day were wildly popular during the Victorian era. Queen Victoria herself helped spread the craze by building her own collection. Cartomania explores this early photographic phenomenon through the work of pioneering photographers such as the celebrated Aberdonian photographer George Washington Wilson. This fascinating exhibition looks in detail at the collecting craze, explores the social impact of photography, changing fashions and how you can date your own cartes de visite.
Saturday, April 25– Sunday, November 1, 2020
Making a Splash! A Century of Women’s Beachwear
Seaside fashions have been influenced by decades of social and political change, the Hollywood film industry and innovations in design and materials. This exhibition showcases highlights from our 20th century beachwear collection including bathing costumes, playsuits, sundresses and accessories.
JHG - Haroon Mirza - Thierry Bal