HERE TODAY… INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION in LONDON, featuring Azerbaijani artists

Here Today… Group Art Exhibition

Old Sorting Office, London

25 November > 17 December 2014

A unique and important art exhibition will open at the Old Sorting Office in the heart of London to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species. Entitled Here Today..., the exhibition will be supported by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Baku Magazine.

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Curated by international curatorial collective, Artwise, the exhibition will include specially commissioned interactive installations and artists' rooms, and will feature the works of world famous artists from a variety of international backgrounds and range of media. The Old Sorting Office will be transformed and will take you on a journey of artworks on endangered species and environmental concern from artists including George Condo, Tracey Emin, Andy Warhol, Gavin Turk, Peter Blake, United Visual Artists, Douglas Gordon, Stephanie Quayle, Gordon Cheung, Oswaldo Macia, Julian Opie, Mariko Mori, Carsten Höller, Diana Thater and more.

The expression ‘Here today, gone tomorrow’ is commonly used when talking about things that are transient – as so much in our society is today. Here Today… is a unique exhibition about our planet: the voices, visions, sounds and even smells from contemporary artists from around the world, brought together to address global issues that are important to every single one of us.

Upon entry into the exhibition, visitors will be immersed into a unique journey exploring the escalating extinction crisis and the current pressure that humanity is placing on the planet.

The aim of the exhibition is to raise vital funds for The IUCN, while raising the public’s awareness of the fragility of our ecosystems and the drastic consequences that can prevail if we fail to take responsibility and action.

The IUCN is one of the largest and most respected bodies in the environmental and conservation sphere, with a membership that unites over 1,200 governments and NGOs, and nearly 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. It is the leading purveyor of facts and knowledge to the world of nature conservation helping find pragmatic solutions to its most pressing environment and development challenges. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of wildlife, assessing whether a plant, fungi or animal is threatened with extinction.

With a coffee shop and store selling exclusive merchandise, the exhibition will boast a social hub in

central London to relax, catch-up with friends and participate in a series of workshops and discussions from prominent artists, curators and conservation experts.

The exhibition will be open to the public in London from 25th November – 17th December and will then tour to prominent art capitals in the world, completing its journey at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, designed by Zaha Hadid. 

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Notes to Editors:

Here Today… is curated by Susie Allen, Laura Culpan and Dea Vanagan of Artwise, a London based-curatorial collective and is supported by Baku Magazine.

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Here Today… is part of a year-long celebration of the IUCN Red List’s 50th anniversary which includes Synchronicity Earth's Biophilia Ball featuring art inspired by the environment curated by Invisible Dust and Monica Chung.

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For more information, please visit www.heretoday.org

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For all press enquiries and interview requests, please contact:

Stephanie De Vos ; Stephanie.devos@freuds.com ; +44 2030036414;

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For all artwork enquiries, please contact: laura@artwisecurators.com or dea@artwisecurators.com

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Exhibition details:

Dates:     25th November > 17th December 2014

Address:                 The Old Sorting Office, 21-33 New Oxford Street London WC1

Opening times:       Monday – Wednesday: 11-7pm, Thursday – Friday: 11-8pm, Saturday / Sunday: 11-6pm

Admission:             Free for all ages

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Here Today... Participating Artist List*:

Ackroyd and Harvey (UK); Rashad Alakbarov (AZ); Leyla Aliyeva (AZ); Sir Peter Blake (UK); Werner Büttner (GR); Jodie Carey (UK); Gordon Cheung (UK) ; Khalil Chishtee (PK); George Condo (USA); Tony Cragg (UK); Siobhan Davies (UK); Tracey Emin (UK); Dominic Harris (UK); Carsten Höller (BEL); Abigail Fallis (UK); Nicolas Feldmeyer (CH); Laura Ford (UK); Douglas Gordon (UK); Chris Jordan (USA); Mat  Kemp (UK); Oswaldo Maciá (CO); Alastair Mackie (UK); Mackie (UK); Mari Mahr (CL/UK); Aida Mahmudova (AZ); Mohau Modisakeng (ZA); Mariko Mori (JP); Sayyora Muin (UZ); Jacco Olivier (NL); Julian Opie (UK); Julian Perry (UK); Mike Perry (UK) Bharti Kher (IN); Stephanie Quayle (UK); Fiona Rae (UK); Farid Rasulov (AZ); David Rickard (NZ); Graham Stevens (UK); Parviz Tanavoli (IR); Diana Thater (USA); Troika (UK);  Gavin Turk (UK); United Visual Artists (UK); Andy Warhol (USA); Hugo Wilson (UK); Zoe Walker & Neil Bromwich (UK)

*Please note that this artist list may be subject to change.