Art credit to Dineo Seshee Bopape
The Brief
Launch the Artes Mundi 9 Shortlist Announcement on 24th September ahead of the exhibition that will take place in October 2020.
Generate high quality regional, national and international media coverage and arranging a launch party to announce the shortlisted artists, while raising the profile of Artes Mundi’s news director Nigel Prince.
Artes Mundi is an internationally focused arts organisation that identifies, recognises and supports contemporary visual artists who engage with the human condition, social reality and lived experience. Founded in 2002, Artes Mundi is best known for its biennial international Exhibition and Prize which takes place in Cardiff. The exhibition is one of Wales’ biggest and most exciting contemporary visual art shows. One of the shortlisted artists is awarded the prize of £40,000, the largest art prize in Britain and one of the most significant in the world.
The Work
Preparation for the Artes Mundi 9 Shortlist announcement began at the end of July and included inviting journalists to the launch party on 24th September. In advance of the shortlist announcement, Midas pitched interviews with the three international selectors as well as Artes Mundi’s new director Nigel Prince. The artists were selected a week before the announcement where Midas pitched the news under embargo and due to the short lead time, had a persistent approach in the lead up to secure features across print, digital, international, arts and lifestyle media as well as several pieces of broadcast both nationally and internationally.
To coincide with the launch party at The Showroom, Midas arranged for interviews with Artes Mundi 9 selector Elvira Dyangani and secured an interview with London Live who came to film on site, which was great exposure for both Artes Mundi and The Showroom. The shortlist announcement was attended by Ocula, a-n, Museums Journal, Elephant and influencer and artist Larry Achiampong amongst others.
Over the course of the campaign between July and September 2019 Midas generated a reach of over 8.5 million and 220 pieces of individual coverage. Highlights included news articles on key visual art outlets such as:
- The Art Newspaper
- Aesthetica
- Artnet
- A-N Magazine
- Art Review
- Press Association
- ArtNews
- Culture Type
- Museums Association
- Art Daily
- Art Review
- It’s Nice That
- Hyperallergic
- Art News
- Cobo Social
- E-Flux
- FAD Magazine
- Ocula
- Yahoo
- BT.com
- Africa Today Magazine
- The Times of India
- India Cardiff Life
- South Wales Echo
- The Gazette Series
In addition, Midas secured a BBC Online article which reached 1,916,376 views and a story with Press Association that was circulated across all UK regional press and syndicated into over 150 different regional newspapers.
We also confirmed advance coverage for the exhibition and winner’s announcement in: The Guardian, The Times, BBC Radio 4: Front Row, BBC News at Ten, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 3: Free Thinking, Arts Professional, Country & Townhouse, World of Interiors, TIME Magazine, Frieze, Arts Industry, Dazed, and Floorr Magazine.
