Mead Gallery exhibition celebrates the enduring power of printmaking with 160 works by iconic artists including Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Lubaina Himid and Tracey Emin.

This January, The University of Warwick will celebrate its 60th anniversary with The Future is Today, a landmark exhibition at Warwick Arts Centre’s Mead Gallery.

Featuring 160 prints by more than 60 inspirational artists, including iconic names such as Andy Warhol, Lubaina Himid, and Tracey Emin, the exhibition showcases the enduring power of printmaking and reflects the university’s founding ideals through the theme ‘prints are ideas in circulation.’

The exhibition highlights the versatility of printmaking, with works exploring critical themes such as identity, social justice, and the environment, while celebrating its evolution from traditional techniques to cutting-edge innovations.

Sarah Shalgosky, Principal Curator at The University of Warwick, said: “This exhibition is both a tribute to past generations who have sought to change our world and an invitation to the next generation of artists, activists, and thinkers to keep creating ideas that lead to a better world.”

Visitors can immerse themselves in the creative process through an on-site print studio, offering hands-on opportunities to create their own screenprints and monoprints.

As part of the celebrations, The University of Warwick has commissioned a special 60th anniversary print by Coventry artist Ben Sanderson. His limited-edition colour etching, Placing Place, was created in collaboration with master printmaker Simon Morris. Produced in an edition of 60, with a further special edition of six on handmade paper, Placing Place will be on view during the exhibition and available for purchase at a special exhibition price of £240 / £600. All profits will support community engagement with the University of Warwick Art Collection.

Founded in 1965, The University of Warwick was created to inspire a socially diverse generation to shape the ideas of the modern world. This vision extended to building a unique art collection with a strong emphasis on modern prints – an ambition that remains central to the University’s identity today.

Alongside the exhibition, a programme of talks and panel discussions exploring the art and impact of printmaking will run in early 2025, with full details and tickets available via the Warwick Arts Centre Box Office or online.

The Future is Today: Prints and The University of Warwick, 1965 to Now opens Thursday 16 January 2025 at the Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For more information, please contact:

Stevie Connoll – Media & Communications Officer
stevie.connoll@warwick.ac.uk / +44 (0)7824 540791

DOWNLOAD SELECTED IMAGES HERE

Artists presented in The Future Is Today are: The Atlas Group, Polly Apfelbaum, Fiona Banner, Peter Blake, Sonia Boyce, Leonie Bradley, Christian Noelle Charles, Tracey Emin, Ruth Ewan, Ellen Gallagher, Richard Hamilton, Lubaina Himid, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Yinka Ilori, R.B Kitaj, Lakwena, Liliane Lijn, Julian Opie, Ciara Phillips, Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, Robert Rauschenberg, Eric Ravilious, Paula Rego, Larry Rivers, Dieter Roth, Ed Ruscha, Ben Sanderson, Khadije Saye, Shanzhai Lyric, Yinka Shonibare, George Shaw, Sin Wai Kin, Emma Stibbon, Graham Sutherland, Joe Tilson, Mark Wallinger, Andy Warhol and Jeremy Wood.

The University of Warwick is one of the UK’s leading universities, marking its 60th anniversary in 2025. With over twenty-eight thousand students from 147 countries, it's currently ranked 9th in the UK by The Guardian University Guide. It has an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research and teaching, for innovation, and for links with business and industry. The recent Research Excellence Framework classed 92% of its research as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. The University of Warwick was awarded Midlands University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times.

Warwick Arts Centre is at the heart of The University of Warwick – representing the largest multi artform arts centre outside London with a concert hall, middle scale theatre, cinemas, studio spaces and the Mead Gallery.

Warwick Arts Centre has been working with some of the world’s most inspiring artists since 1974 including Pauline Black, Peter Brook, Guz Khan, Ken Loach, Annie Mac, the Maly Theatre of St Petersburg, Motionhouse Dance, Robert Plant, Simon Rattle and the CBSO.

In 2022, following a redevelopment programme the Arts Centre opened a new three screen cinema enabling the screening of a wider range of films from blockbuster to UK Independent films, opera, theatre and exhibitions. The Mead Gallery kept its unique footprint but moved to the ground floor, at the entrance to Warwick Arts Centre.

The Mead Gallery is an exceptional space, comprised of three expansive spaces. Its programme is driven by enquiry into modern and contemporary art practice and often features new, commissioned work from artists.

Key exhibitions include Phyllida Barlow: STINT, an exhibition of ten new sculptures in 2008; The Indiscipline of Painting in 2012; The World Turned Upside Down: Buster Keaton, Sculpture and the Absurd, 2013; Rana Begum: Dappled Light in 2022; Katrina Palmer: What’s already going on in 2023 and Phantom Sculpture in 2024.

Warwick Arts Centre does more than provide a platform for outstanding artists to present their work. It works with artists and communities of people to co-create and deliver a year-round programme of events, workshops and projects designed to engage and inspire children, families, young people and adults of all backgrounds.