Coventry Biennial 2025 Announces Title, Dates, Curatorial Focus and First Creative Projects

Simeon Barclay, At Home, Everywhere and Nowhere, Installation View at
Gathering and Workplace Gallery, London (UK), 2023. Courtesy: The
Artist and Gathering. Photo: Tom Carter

Obsessions, Possessions
📍 Coventry, UK
🗓️ October 3 2025 – January 25, 2026
Artistic Director: Ryan Hughes
www.coventrybiennial.com

Coventry Biennial has announced the title, curatorial focus, and initial programme for its fifth edition. Titled Obsessions, Possessions, the Biennial will run from 3 October 2025 to 25 January 2026, with previews and opening events on 2 October. Taking place across museums, libraries, and public spaces in Coventry and Warwickshire, the 2025 edition examines the objects we hold onto—emotionally, culturally, and institutionally—and the complex systems we build around them.

“Obsessions, Possessions is a project about the things we keep and the systems we build around those things. It explores how our collections — whether public or private, official or informal — communicate the stories we tell about ourselves and others. From the family photo albums and treasured keepsakes in our homes to the institutional archives that define national narratives, the things we hold onto help us understand who we are and what we value,” says Ryan Hughes, Artistic Director and founder of the Coventry Biennial.

The title plays on the dual meanings of its key terms—obsession and possession—to question the motivations, values, and power structures behind collecting practices. “Some collections are housed in homes, built up across a lifetime. Others are formal archives with strict rules, developed over decades. They might hold economic, cultural, personal or sentimental value—but always contain and communicate meaning,” Hughes adds.

This year’s edition arrives at a pivotal moment for Coventry, coinciding with the forthcoming City Cultural Gateway—a major redevelopment of the former IKEA building that will house the Arts Council Collection and the British Council Collection. This context offers an opportunity to reflect on national and international narratives of collection, care, and cultural inheritance.

Alona Pardo (Director, Arts Council Collection) says: “I’m absolutely delighted that Simeon Barclay is curating an exhibition from the Arts Council Collection for Coventry Biennial. As both an artist represented in the Collection and a former member of the Acquisitions Committee, Simeon has been a vocal and valued supporter of our work. A remarkable artist, his practice, which deftly weaves together popular culture, personal history, and social commentary, brings a sharp and resonant perspective to contemporary British life. His thoughtful engagement with themes of identity, history, and place makes him uniquely positioned to offer a compelling curatorial perspective – we’re excited to see how his vision brings fresh insight to the Collection and to the narrative of the city.”

The Biennial’s core exhibitions will be staged at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, where four major presentations will address overlapping aspects of the theme.

Marguerite Nugent, Cultural Director at CV Life comments: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming the Coventry Biennial back to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum for its fifth edition later this year. Obsessions, Possessions opens up thought-
provoking conversations about collections of all kinds and the stories they tell across a range of cultures and locations, and we are excited to share four fantastic exhibitions in collaboration with leading visual artists and curators from across the globe.”
Marguerite continues: “We’re proud to be one of the key venues supporting this year’s ambitious programme, which continues to place Coventry at the heart of the national arts scene while championing creative collaboration.”

Artist Simeon Barclay curates a group exhibition from the Arts Council Collection, drawing on the visual and cultural landscape of Coventry. The show “explores the changing face of the city — from its post-industrial past to its position as a centre of innovation and regeneration today.”

E.N. Mirembe and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo present a new exhibition titled in transit under another sky, in dialogue with the British Council Collection and works by artists from East Africa. The exhibition “considers the historical and contemporary legacies of displacement and marginalisation, highlighting cross-cultural resonances and new modes of connection.”

Artist and writer Leah Gordon will present Monument to the Vanquished Peasants, developed in partnership with Meadow Arts. The installation “traces the social, economic and political transformations brought about by the Enclosure Acts, and their enduring impact on rural communities in the UK and beyond.”

Finnish artist Sophia Ehrnrooth will show 879 Heroes by Heart, a four-channel video installation supported by Frame Contemporary Art Finland. The work “reflects on memory, masculinity and the rituals of sport, exploring the fine line between passion and obsession.”

Beyond the Herbert, the Biennial will continue its strong commitment to site-specific and socially engaged practice across the city and surrounding region. Among the first projects announced are:

A collaboration between Coventry-based painter Andi and Warwickshire County Council’s Library Service, co-creating a new artwork that “celebrates queer contributions to local cultural and archival histories.”

A speculative, research-led project by artist Caitlin Kiely and Dr Jamie Larkin (University of Warwick), which “explores museums as sites of storytelling and experimentation, engaging local communities in rethinking the ways we collect and care for cultural artefacts.”

A new international commission by artist Debashish Paul, developed in collaboration with Prasanta Sahu and Emami Art (Kolkata), and supported through the British Council’s Biennials Connect initiative. The work “will investigate gender identity and migration, weaving together personal and collective narratives across borders.”

“Coventry Biennial 2025 continues our mission to make contemporary art more accessible, inclusive and relevant. With Obsessions, Possessions, we are inviting audiences to reflect on the deep personal and political significance of the things we choose to hold onto — and those we are forced to let go of,” says Hughes.

More announcements, including further artists, venues, and public programming, will be released in July 2025.

For updates, visit: www.coventrybiennial.com