Exhibition
The Royal Academy is delighted to present the 254th Summer Exhibition, a unique celebration of contemporary art and architecture, providing a vital platform and support for the artistic community.
Celebrated British sculptor Alison Wilding RA will co-ordinate this year’s Summer Exhibition, and working with the rest of the Summer Exhibition Committee, will explore the theme of Climate.
Artists exhibiting new work this year include artistic duos Harvey & Ackroyd, The Singh Twins, and Special Olympics GB Athlete and artist Niall Guite. Other artists invited to exhibit this year include Royal Academy Schools graduate Clara Hastrup, Dominica-born British painter Tam Joseph, sculptor Kathleen Ryan, conceptual artist Simon Starling, sculptor Gavin Turk, Brazil-based artists Denilson Baniwa and Sallisa Rosa, and art-activist Jerilea Zempel. Wall-based works made by Roger Ackling (1947-2014) using sunlight have also been invited. In addition to the large number of public submissions, newly elected Royal Academicians Michael Armitage, Peter Barber and Ryan Gander will be submitting works, as well as newly elected Honorary Academician Pipilotti Rist.
This year, Royal Academicians Rana Begum and Níall McLaughlin are working collaboratively and will curate architecture across two galleries, alongside artworks. They have worked closely with invited architects including Boonserm Premthada, who has innovated the use of elephant dung to make bricks and will be displaying a custom-designed and fabricated structure using elephant dung bricks made in the UK. Begum and McLaughlin have also worked with Marina Tabassum whose Khudi Bari (Tiny House) will be constructed in the galleries using local and reclaimed materials. The Khudi Bari is designed as a low-cost temporary housing option for refugees and victims of climate change.
Alongside the Summer Exhibition this year will be a large-scale, immersive installation designed specifically for the Royal Academy’s Annenberg Courtyard by the renowned Spanish artist and 2020 Royal Academy Architecture Prize winner, Cristina Iglesias. Iglesias has explored themes of nature, climate, and the environment throughout her career, and the installation for the RA, Humid Labyrinth Room (with Spontaneous Landscape), has been conceived to bring the experience of intimacy.
Installation
From Mayfair Art Weekend and Art in Mayfair explore Mayfair Art Trail, the summer trail that takes art out onto the streets of Mayfair.
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Gallery
The Royal Academy of Arts is a world-renowned art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. For over 250 years, the RA has existed to champion art and artists and offers a place where art is made, exhibited and debated. Enjoy their expanded campus with free displays, new spots to eat, drink and shop, and much more.