The New Art Gallery Walsall have a new exhibition opening on 1 October, which runs until 23 December. Metropolis will bring together a diverse group of artists whose work is concerned with the modern urban environment.

Works have been acquired through Art Fund International, the Art Fund’s £5 million scheme which is helping to build outstanding collections of international contemporary art. The New Art Gallery Walsall, Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery and Ikon Gallery form one of the five consortiums taking part in the initiative. The exhibition represents an interim stage in the collecting process, with the scheme coming to an end in 2012.

Exhibiting artists include: Mohamed Bourouissa, Semyon Faibisovich, Jochem Hendricks, Jitish Kallat, Ola Kolehmainen, Aleksandra Mir, Sharmila Samant, Dayanita Singh, Grazia Toderi and Zhang Enli.

The exhibition will be held on Floor 3, and admission is free.

With a £1million grant from the Art Fund, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and partners New Art Gallery Walsall and Ikon Gallery have been creating a major collection of international contemporary art.

Which is interesting but I think I’d heard about that before. Still, new news is that this collection will be shown off later in the year (from 13 November) at BMAG’s Waterhall.

This is the first chance to see some of the newly acquired works by artists from India, China, Africa, and Western Europe. In painting, photography, and video installations they explore the theme of the “modern metropolis” – the social and physical landscapes of city life.

These international works will be shown alongside examples from the Museum’s Contemporary British Art Collection including paintings by Tony Bevan, Fiona Rae, George Shaw and many others.