Your Support

The Royal Academy of Arts is an independent arts institution that receives no government funding.

As a Friend of the RA, your invaluable support enables:

• 1 million visitors a year to experience world class exhibitions at the Royal Academy.

• The delivery of a nationwide outreach programme , reaching children in a range of different communities.

• The RA to mount our Summer Exhibition , the world’s largest open contemporary art exhibition which attracts over 12,000 submissions annually from amateur and professional artists across all disciplines.

• The Artists' Laboratory series, an annual programme of exhibitions providing Royal Academicians with the opportunity to explore new ideas within their artistic practice, whilst enabling the public to experience less familiar aspects of their work.

• The training of the next generation of leading artists through the Royal Academy Schools . The oldest art school in the country and an independent establishment that offers the UK's only three-year, full-time postgraduate Fine Art course.

• The preservation of the RA Collection , a diverse collection of British art from the 18th century onwards including the Royal Academicians’ Diploma Works.

• The preservation and development of the UK’s oldest institutional Fine Arts Library , with a significant collection of books, archives, prints, drawings and photographs relating to British art and the history of the Royal Academy.

• People of all ages to attend workshops, lectures, talks and symposia.

Friends Discretionary Trust

Through the Friends Discretionary Trust, the Friends Board of Directors allocate income from Friends membership to support projects within the Royal Academy of Arts and ensure their future.

For 2011 – 2012, the selected projects are the RA Outreach Programme and the Artists' Laboratory exhibition series.

Your Support is our Future