This autumn, York Art Gallery becomes a vital nexus for contemporary art as Aesthetica presents two exhibitions: the Aesthetica Art Prize 2025 and Future Tense: Art in the Age of Transformation. Both open on 19 September 2025 and run until 25 January 2026, offering audiences an opportunity to experience ambitious and immersive works, curated by the Director of one the UK’s leading art publications.
The Aesthetica Art Prize has, since 2007, established itself as one of the UK’s most influential platforms for emerging and mid-career artists. Far from a conventional competition, the Prize identifies and nurtures talent at a formative stage, providing recognition that often propels artists onto the international stage. Its alumni have gone on to shape the global contemporary art landscape, demonstrating the Prize’s impact.
Among its most notable graduates, Larry Achiampong interrogates postcolonial identity through multidisciplinary projects, blending performance, video and installation to confront historical legacies and cultural memory. Jenn Nkiru has redefined filmmaking, with works such as Black to Techno and contributions to Beyoncé’s Black Is King that fuse visual sophistication with political and cultural insight.
Julia Fullerton-Batten challenges narrative and identity through conceptual photography, producing images that are both visually striking and intellectually provocative. Noémie Goudal merges film, photography and installation to create interventions in natural and architectural landscapes, prompting audiences to reconsider spatial perception. Immersive practitioners Liz West and Squidsoup continue to expand the field of experience-based art, transforming light, colour and digital technologies into sensory environments that challenge the viewer’s relationship with space.
Cherie Federico, Director of Aesthetica, says: “The Aesthetica Art Prize has always been about supporting artists and giving them a platform to share their vision with the world. Seeing alumni like Liz West and Squidsoup return with works of such international calibre shows how significant the Prize is in shaping the contemporary art landscape in the UK and beyond. Presenting the Prize and Future Tense together allows audiences to experience transformative art that spans media, scale and ideas.”
The 2025 Prize exhibition presents 25 shortlisted artists whose work spans sculpture, installation, video, photography and audiovisual experimentation. Àsìkò examines migration and cultural memory in New World Giants, while Hussina Raja’s STATION traces South Asian and Caribbean heritage in London. Joanne Coates’ multi-part installation The Object, Pen with Tattoo, The Portrait and The Vinyl reflects on working-class landscapes in rural England. Rayvenn D’Clark’s sculptural Untitled challenges conventional representations of Black anatomy, while Vlad Hyrnko’s Foundation interrogates the still life in a digital era. Collaborative work Time Pops Like Chewing Gum by Adam Cain, Lois Macdonald and Princess Arinola Adegbite explores AI, technology and disconnection. Bart Nelissen’s Datascapes examines pattern recognition in today’s society, while Ellie Davies and Liz Miller Kovacs respond to ecological fragility and the evolving relationship between humans and land. Collectively, these works present a multidimensional portrait of contemporary practice, reflecting urgent global concerns and formally inventive approaches.
Complementing the Prize, Future Tense: Art in the Age of Transformation transforms York Art Gallery’s ground floor into immersive, experiential environments. Squidsoup’s Submergence, first longlisted for the Prize in 2015 and now experienced on six continents, envelops visitors in 8,000 responsive LEDs, dissolving the boundary between digital and physical space. Liz West’s Our Spectral Vision, inspired by Newton’s prism experiments and commissioned by the Natural History Museum, bathes visitors in a radiant spectrum of colour, offering a sensory encounter that lingers long after leaving the gallery. These works sit at the intersection of art, technology, and perception, demonstrating how immersive practices can reshape our understanding of space and experience.
The combination of the Prize and Future Tense underscores Aesthetica’s ongoing commitment to championing bold, innovative voices in contemporary art. The exhibitions offer a platform for emerging artists alongside alumni whose practices have reshaped international discourse, highlighting the Prize’s unique role in fostering dialogue across media, geography and cultural context. It is a testament to the UK’s position as a hub for artistic innovation and the Prize’s significance in the national and global art landscape.
The winners of the Aesthetica Art Prize 2025 will be announced on 18 September 2025, ahead of the exhibition opening. Artists interested in participating in future editions can still submit work; entries are open until 30 September 2025, offering the opportunity to be part of a platform that has consistently shaped two decades of contemporary art in the UK.
Aesthetica Art Prize 2025 and Future Tense: Art in the Age of Transformation are at York Art Gallery 19 September – 25 January 2026: yorkartgallery.org.uk
Words: Anna Müller
Image Credits:
1. Michelle Blancke, Secret Garden, (2023).
2. Liz Miller Kovacs, Supernatural, (2024).
3. Àsìkò, New World Giants, (2022).
4. Squidsoup, Submergence, (2019).
5. Liz West, Our Spectral Vision, (2016).
