Articles
Learning
Our Collection
8 months ago
Naked truth: the story of female life models at the RA
What does a 230-year-old household bill tell us about life modelling in the 18th-century? Here, we explore the historical role of the female nude life model at the RA.
Our Collection
8 months ago
Mary Moser and Angelica Kauffman: the RA’s founding women
Angelica Kauffman and Mary Moser were the only two female founders of the Royal Academy. Here, we take a closer look at their careers and the challenges they faced within the RA.
Our Collection
8 months ago
Victorian women and the fight for arts training
19th-century women faced an uphill struggle to get equal access to training at the Royal Academy Schools. Here, we delve into the RA Archive to learn more about women’s fight for equality.
RA Recommends
9 months ago
Eight of the best home art activities for kids
We’ve loved seeing you being creative at home with our online activities. If you need more inspiration during lockdown, we’ve picked out some other great resources from the UK’s art galleries and organisations…
RA Exhibitions
> 2 years ago
Video: meet the artists of the Young Artists’ Summer Show
Hear from some of the talented artists in our Young Artists’ Summer Show, which celebrates the creativity of young people aged 7-19.
Inside the Academy
> 5 years ago
The new art wrapped round our buildings
As building works start on our RA250 renovations, look out for new works of art surrounding Burlington Gardens – designed by artists of the future.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Liotard: podcast round-up
From a curator’s introduction to the work of Liotard, to experts discussing the artist’s use of pastel and his depiction of costume, we present a round-up of podcasts on this eccentric and skilful artist.
RA Exhibitions
6 years ago
Art and activism: can it change the world?
Performance and protest is key to the work of Ai Weiwei, as it is to many of his contemporaries. But in the face of global crisis, can art really effect change? Professor Jen Harvie explores the role of the artist-activist.
RA Exhibitions
6 years ago
Fun for kids: make a box like Cornell
We invited families to create their own shadow boxes inspired by the work of Cornell. Here’s how to do it…
Inside the Academy
> 6 years ago
Our picks from the A-level Summer Exhibition Online 2015
We asked members of staff to pick their highlights from this year’s A-level Summer Exhibition Online, which showcases the work of the country’s talented young artists and runs parallel to the RA’s Summer Exhibition.
RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
Was Joseph Cornell an outsider artist?
An avid collector who defied categorisation and never spent a night away from home, Cornell also exhibited with the biggest names of his day. So what makes an artist an outsider artist? Five experts discuss.
Inside the Academy
> 6 years ago
Curating artists of the future: the A-level Summer Exhibition Online
Each year the RA’s Learning team puts together an online exhibition of outstanding work by A-level students. Ann Gilmore explains how this year’s show came together.
RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
Joseph Cornell and his poets
The Ted Hughes Poetry Prize-nominated author and leader of our Joseph Cornell-inspired short course explores the poets whose writings had a profound effect on the artist.
Inside the Academy
> 6 years ago
Usher on mentoring, creativity and the Summer Exhibition
Our Head of Learning writes about the creative partnership between the Royal Academy and top recording artist Usher.
Inside the Academy
> 6 years ago
All for art: an introduction to the RA’s Access programme
How do you break the barriers that stop people coming to an art institution? Caroline Bugler gets some first-hand experience of the RA’s creative sessions that encourage access for everyone.
Inside the Academy
> 6 years ago
A day in the life: Molly Bretton, Access Manager
As she prepares for Dementia Awareness Week 2015, we chat to Access Manager Molly Bretton about her daily life at the RA.
Inside the Academy
< 7 years ago
Our top ten blogs of 2014
From life modelling to behind the scenes of ‘Mr Turner’, we round up our most-read blog posts from the past year.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Turkish treasures: exploring Istanbul with Friends of the RA
The RA’s Courtney Cooke joins one of our Worldwide Art Tours, created specially by our travel partner Cox & Kings for Friends of the RA.
Inside the Academy
< 7 years ago
Video: a multi-sensory tour of the Royal Academy
A recent event for blind and visually impaired visitors engaged the senses of smell, touch, taste and hearing to explore our building’s architecture and history.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Allen Jones’s ‘Chair’: the debate
Ahead of our Provocations in Art Salon, speakers Stacy Boldrick, Lyndsey Morgan and Grace Woodward describe their first reactions to a work that has sparked everything from vandalism to real-life re-creation. What’s your view?
Our Collection
< 7 years ago
Video: how we made Mr. Turner
Who was Mr. Turner? A contradiction, Timothy Spall told us at a recent panel discussion on Mike Leigh’s biopic. Watch the event and a behind-the-scenes video about the film here.
Inside the Academy
< 7 years ago
Back to school… a day in the life of an Outreach tutor
Our Outreach programme has been bringing life drawing workshops to schools for over 20 years. Tutor Paul Brandford tells us what’s involved.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Grace Woodward: can a feminist love Allen Jones?
The presenter, fashion commentator, stylist and feminist explains why she identifies with Allen Jones’s controversial works and picks a few of her favourites.
Inside the Academy
< 7 years ago
Parades and processions: The Lord Mayor’s Show
The Lord Mayor’s Show has been taking over the streets of London for nearly 800 years, and features a parade of over 6000 people. This year, the RA’s Learning Team were delighted to be part of that tradition.
Inside the Academy
7 years ago
The Swinging Sixties come to the RA
Last weekend saw a ‘groovy’ Late event at the RA, in collaboration with University of the Arts London, inspired by ‘Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album’.
Inside the Academy
7 years ago
The Big Draw at the RA
Ahead of this year’s workshop to mark The Big Draw, we asked RA staff to send us their Kiefer-inspired drawings.
Inside the Academy
7 years ago
Meaning in material: the story behind our new event series
How the attention given to material choices and use in our ‘Sensing Spaces’ exhibition inspired a debate about the essential building blocks of architecture.
Inside the Academy
7 years ago
Q&A: Cultural historian Robert Hewison on Effie Gray
Ahead of a special event at the RA, one of our panellists tells us about the figures behind a 19th-century love triangle that scandalised the art world.
Inside the Academy
7 years ago
Find out what happens at an RA photography workshop
Have you ever walked around London and wished you’d had a camera to hand and the confidence to capture the street life of the capital?
Artists
7 years ago
Our picks from the A-level Summer Exhibition Online
As the exhibition draws to a close, we asked three RA members of staff to select their highlight.
Inside the Academy
7 years ago
Getting creative with Summer Exhibition art trays
Summer holiday fun for tiny Turners and kid Constables.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
London in black and white
Inspired by ‘Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album’, a crowd of teenagers from the RA’s youth programme attRAct took to the streets of Soho to document the city.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Uncovering Beguiling Books
Ever wondered how we plan for our monthly Family Studios? Book artist Anna Nunhofer takes us behind the scenes of the Learning department as she prepared for July’s workshop ‘Beguiling Books’.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
School’s out for the summer
Looking for ways to keep your kids interested this summer? Why not try a visit to the Summer Exhibition, a perfect opportunity to introduce children to art.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Accessing art: SEN family workshops
Claire Madge observes a family SEN (Special Educational Needs) workshop at the RA.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Francis Kéré’s straws travel to Sierra Leone
Rebecca Milling describes the story of how straws from our ‘Sensing Spaces’ exhibition travelled to Swawou Layout Foundation Primary School for Girls, Sierra Leone.
Artists
> 7 years ago
Building blocks of the city
On Sunday, the RA played host to a great LEGO challenge.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Community Art Club: forging a connection
For many homeless and marginalised people, art-making can seem a closed-off world. Our learning team tell us how the RA is trying to change that.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Dennis Hopper: Icon of Oblivion
In celebration of the RA’s forthcoming exhibition ‘Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album’ the BFI is launching a Dennis Hopper retrospective in July, showcasing a selection of Hopper’s finest films.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Judging the A-level Summer Exhibition Online
The judging panel of this year’s A-level Summer Exhibition Online discusses their selection process.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Family fun: time to rhyme at the RA
If you came down to the RA last Sunday, you were sure of a big surprise…
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Behind the scenes in the Learning Department
Two of our interns tell us about what life is like working in the Learning Department at the RA.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Teenage kicks at the RA
Great news for families and young people! As of early June 2014, we are extending our offer of free admission to all exhibitions here at the RA to children aged 15 and under.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Arts education… What’s next?
Picture the scene: you’re an A-level art student, approaching the end of your course and considering your educational future. What comes next?
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Strike a pose… What it’s like to be a life model
As part of the RA Outreach programme we give school students across the UK the chance to take part in life drawing workshops to discover the important role that drawing can play in developing creativity. But what’s it like to be a life model and pose for these budding young artists?
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Families create Lego masterpieces in our latest workshop
On Sunday 13 April families gathered at the Royal Academy to participate in our epic pre-Easter celebrations at the ‘Lego Reimagined’ workshop.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Family fun: Make your own prints
Inspired by the chiaroscuro woodcuts in ‘Renaissance Impressions’, our Learning Department recently held a fun hands-on workshop for families.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
How do you see me?
This Friday, we welcome the theatre company Small Things, who will present a performance that challenges perceptions of age and ageing.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Building brilliance
It’s not only the critics who have been hailing the success of ‘Sensing Spaces’; the exhibition has been a huge hit with school groups too.
Artists
> 7 years ago
Making a mark: #PrintMonth at the RA
Welcome to Print Month. This April we’re celebrating the versatile art of printmaking, with a packed programme of exhibitions, events and online activity.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
In the Company of the Courtesan
Beth Schneider, Head of Learning, delves between the pages of ‘In the Company of the Courtesan’ by Sarah Dunant, our RA Book Club novel of the month.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Will there be fewer fine artists in the future?
We put the question to Jennifer Zielinska, part of the RA’s attRAct programme, and Royal Academician and fine artist Cornelia Parker
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Happy birthday Sydney Smirke
A special late opening of ‘Sensing Spaces’ as part of our attRAct programme.
Inside the Academy
< 8 years ago
Family fun times at ‘Funny Faces’
Families put on their most gorgeous grins and came along to the RA for the January Family Studio workshop ‘Funny Faces’, inspired by the work of French artist and caricaturist Honoré Daumier.
Inside the Academy
< 8 years ago
How HLF funding will transform learning at the RA
We’ve recently been awarded £12.7m by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). It’ll transform our buildings – but also the way we engage with our visitors.