Bagri Foundation is launching a new curatorial programme dedicated to supporting exceptional artists from Asia presenting their first solo exhibitions in the UK.
Opening during Frieze Week, the initiative, Springboard, debuts with a site-specific exhibition by Mongolian artist Nomin Zezegmaa at St Cyprian’s Church from 10th–24th October 2026. Curated by Bagri Foundation Director Chelsea Pettitt, the exhibition will feature a newly commissioned sound work alongside large-scale paintings, sculpture and an installation of silk prayer scarves, responding to the architecture of the Grade II-listed Victorian church.
Born in Berlin and based in Ulaanbaatar, Zezegmaa is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, writer and silversmith whose practice draws on Mongolian ancestral knowledge and cosmology. Working across sculpture, painting, drawing, calligraphy, land art, film, performance and installation, she explores the interconnected relationships between landscape, history, ritual and material culture.
For her first UK solo exhibition, Zezegmaa takes inspiration from Urtiin Duu, the Mongolian Long Song tradition that has been practised for more than 2,000 years. Throughout St Cyprian’s Church, fluid painted forms, sculptural interventions and a newly commissioned sound installation translate the elongated vocal melodies into visual rhythms, while materials including horsehair, copper, silk and ritual bells sourced and cast in Mongolia connect sound, spirituality and pastoral life. Blue Khadag prayer scarves appear throughout the exhibition, referencing ceremonial traditions found across Mongolia.
The exhibition marks the beginning of Springboard, a new curatorial initiative that expands the Bagri Foundation’s long-standing commitment to championing contemporary artistic voices from across Asia.
Chelsea Pettitt, Director and Curator of the Bagri Foundation, said:
“We’re excited to be working with Nomin Zezegmaa to launch our new curatorial programme Springboard supporting exceptional artists from Asia presenting their first solo exhibitions in the UK. Developed as a natural extension of Bagri Foundation’s programming committed to championing excellence in Asian arts and culture, Springboard reflects the Foundation’s belief that there remains an extraordinary breadth of artistic talent yet to be fully represented within the UK cultural landscape.
“We have been following Nomin’s work for some time and are delighted to be bringing it to a global audience in London during Frieze Week within the fitting and beautiful setting of a Victorian Gothic church. From mountainous peaks to low valleys, serene sounds found in rural Mongolia will echo throughout the nave, transforming St Cyprian’s into a contemplative environment that invites visitors to slow down, listen closely and enjoy a moment of calm.”
Alongside the exhibition, a public programme of performances, workshops and conversations will explore ritual song, sound, movement and Mongolian cultural practices, further extending Springboard’s ambition to introduce new artistic voices and perspectives to UK audiences.
Nomin Zezegmaa, A Springboard Exhibition, 10th – 24th October 2026, St Cyprian’s Church
About
Nomin Zezegmaa (b. b.1992, Berlin, Germany, based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, writer and silversmith. She studied Fashion at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, Germany, between 2012 and 2014 and
attained her BA with a nomination for the GRA Autonomous Arts Award from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2020. She is the recipient of the 2025 RAK Art Foundation Prize and 2026 Sovereign Art Foundation Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Prize.
Zezegmaa’s theory and practice draw from Mongol foundational mythologies to investigate interwoven histories and the materials that surround us. She finds expression through sculpture, painting, drawing, calligraphy, land art, film, performance and site-specific installations, which invoke a deep-seated bodily cognition. Through the dynamics of tactility and form, Zezegmaa’s work embodies symbolism, alchemy, environmentalism, language and writing, which intersect and inform each other. Her work is concerned with finding new ways for earthly species to coexist. Natural materials found in the Mongolian landscape, such as horsehair, driftwood, bone, charcoal and wool, influence the work she creates, which is often site-specific. A recurring element of her practice is the use of blue, representing the spiritual, mystical and the infinite. Blue, as in Lapis Lazuli, is also an important colour to Mongolia, the land of the Eternal Blue Sky, where it stands for life-sustaining power.
The Bagri Foundation, established in 1990, is a family foundation driven by a spirit of curiosity. Our vision is to cultivate a meaningful space for Asian culture to thrive, shift perspectives and deepen connections.
The Foundation works within a network of leading cultural organisations that share this mission to give artists and experts from across Asia, wider visibility on the global stage. We champion diverse artistic initiatives that challenge and inspire us and our audiences. Through grants and strategic partnerships, we realise unique, high-quality programmes which share traditional and contemporary Asian culture.
Recent projects include support for the major exhibition Asian Bronze: 4000 years of Beauty at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Myths, Dreams and New Realities featuring 13 emerging Asian artists co-curated with the Saatchi Gallery; a co production, Thikra: Night of Remembering, by Akram Khan Company; and the first retrospective outside of India of Arpita Singh’s work at the Serpentine Gallery, London; and The Bagri Commission, established in partnership with Southbank Centre and Hayward Gallery, returning in 2026 in partnership with the Whitworth, featuring artist Gulnur Mukazhanova. In addition to the arts programme, three generations of the family continue to support education, relief work, development and healthcare. bagrifoundation.org
