The BAS10 Weekender invites you to explore contemporary visual art across the West Midlands. Coinciding with the opening of British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers (Fri 2 Oct 2026 – Sun 10 Jan 2027) in Coventry, the BAS10 Weekender runs Friday 2 – Sunday 4 October 2026, bringing together exhibitions, events and activity happening across galleries, artist-led spaces, museums and arts organisations throughout the region.

British Art Show 10 (BAS10) launching in the West Midlands is a major moment for the region. The landmark 10th edition brings together 33 artists, curated by Ekow Eshun, exploring human connection and the figure of the ‘Other’ in divided times. The exhibition takes place across The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre and Coventry University, with partners across the city delivering additional fringe, fellowship and youth programming.

BAS10 Weekender is an invitation to use British Art Show 10 as a starting point to discover cities and spaces you might not have visited before and connect with artists and organisations across the region.

There’s plenty to explore, including the opening weekend of Charmaine Watkiss: The things we hold sacred at The New Art Gallery Walsall, a major solo exhibition bringing together new sculptural works alongside loans from public and private collections.

Digbeth First Friday will see the creative centre of Birmingham come alive on Friday 2 October from 6pm with late-night exhibition openings, performances, culture in unexpected spaces and more.

At Birmingham Hippodrome, you can catch a tour and film screening of Balraj Khanna’s landmark commission Astral Dance (2001) for the Hippodrome Safety Curtain, and see Khanna’s show Lines of Flight at Ikon Gallery.

It’s also the final weekend of Andy Warhol: Art Star at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which runs until Sunday 4 October and Laisul Hoque: Learning to Drive in Birmingham at Grand Union, which ends Saturday 3rd October.

And at Rugby Art Gallery & Museum Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature will be open to the public!

Find out what’s on and start planning your weekend: head to the What’s On section of the CVAN WM website and look for the BAS10 Weekender tag.

The West Midlands has an extraordinary range of contemporary visual arts activity happening across different places, scales and communities, and the BAS10 Weekender is a chance to experience that ecology together.

The wider BAS10 programme continues in Coventry beyond the Weekender, with exhibitions and activity running through to January 2027.

Image credit: Dinner Ladies, Birmingham, UK, 1984, from the series Schwarz Flaneur. Pogus Caesar/OOM Gallery Archive.