Articles

Learning

Installation view of the Young Artists’ Summer Show 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, London

RA Exhibitions

> 1 year ago

“Many of your students will become better artists than you”: an art teacher on what her pupils have taught her

As we prepare to open this year’s Young Artists’ Summer Show, we asked schoolteacher Stephanie Cubbin what her art students have taught her about taking risks, sharing, and independence.

Russell Westwood, Sir Henry Rushbury  R.A. with students in the Life Room in the Royal Academy Schools

Our Collection

< 3 years 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.

After Johann Zoffany RA, The Royal Academy of Arts

Our Collection

< 3 years 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.

Alfred Ansell, Life drawing of a reclining male nude. This drawing was produced by Alfred Ansell while he was a student at the Royal Academy Schools.

Our Collection

< 3 years 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.

Plastic bag weaving

RA Recommends

< 3 years 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

4 years ago

Video: Antony Gormley in conversation with Iwona Blazwick

In this special event, Antony Gormley discusses a career spanning over 40 years and his most ambitious exhibition in a decade.

Installation view of the Young Artists' Summer Show in the Clore Learning Centre at the Royal Academy of Arts

RA Exhibitions

> 4 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.

Hoarding designs outside Burlington Gardens

Inside the Academy

< 8 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.

Jean-Etienne Liotard, Self-portrait Laughing (detail)

RA Exhibitions

< 8 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.

Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor's solidarity walk

RA Exhibitions

8 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.

Cornell family studio: Joseph Cornell

RA Exhibitions

> 8 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…

Lauren Capon, Shops Typology : Manchester Northern Quarter

Inside the Academy

> 8 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.

Joseph Cornell poses for a portrait in 1967 at his home and studio in Flushing, Queens, New York

RA Exhibitions

> 8 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.

Prim Khaoroptham, Night at Prom

Inside the Academy

> 8 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.

Joseph Cornell, Toward the Blue Peninsula: for Emily Dickinson (detail)

RA Exhibitions

> 8 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.

Usher and group in the RA Schools Life Room

Inside the Academy

> 8 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.

An RA volunteer works with a child to make a ‘forest in a box’ in response to the RA’s recent Kiefer show, at a family workshop for children with special educational needs

Inside the Academy

> 8 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.

Molly Bretton

Inside the Academy

> 8 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.

The Annenberg Courtyard, Burlington House

Inside the Academy

< 9 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.

Interior of the domes of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Opinion

< 9 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.

Tinctures, Tastes and Textures Tour: Layered Histories at the RA

Inside the Academy

9 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.

Allen Jones RA, Chair

Opinion

9 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?

Film still from 'Mr Turner'

Our Collection

9 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.

Strode's College Outreach workshop

Inside the Academy

9 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.

Allen Jones RA, Body Armour

Opinion

9 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.

RA staff, volunteers and community partners in the Lord Mayor's Parade

Inside the Academy

9 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.

DJs Linda Mora and Paul Milne

Inside the Academy

9 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’.

The Big Draw workshop in the RA Learning Studio

Inside the Academy

9 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.

A team of workers assemble Pezo Von Ellrichshausen's installation in 'Sensing Spaces'

Inside the Academy

9 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.

Emma Thompson and Dakota Fanning in Effie Gray

Inside the Academy

9 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.

Branches by Nick Spence

Inside the Academy

> 9 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?

Nathalie	Soo, Majestic Landscape

Artists

> 9 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.

An artwork by Monty Everett

Inside the Academy

> 9 years ago

Getting creative with Summer Exhibition art trays

Summer holiday fun for tiny Turners and kid Constables.

Reflections

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Cutting and sticking

Inside the Academy

> 9 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’.

A family workshop

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

SEN family workshop at the RA

Inside the Academy

> 9 years ago

Accessing art: SEN family workshops

Claire Madge observes a family SEN (Special Educational Needs) workshop at the RA.

Pupils at the Swawou Layout Foundation Primary School for Girls

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Photo: Agnese Sanvito

Artists

> 9 years ago

Building blocks of the city

On Sunday, the RA played host to a great LEGO challenge.

Art Club

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in 'Easy Rider'

RA Exhibitions

> 9 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.

Kristine McCormick, Flour Power

RA Exhibitions

> 9 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.

Making straw costumes in the workshop

Inside the Academy

> 9 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…

A lunchtime lecture at the RA, run by the Events and Lectures team

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Visitors to the Summer Exhibition 2013

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

The AttRAct Workshop

Inside the Academy

> 9 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?

Outreach Workshop

Inside the Academy

> 9 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?

Lego Reimagined Family workshop

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Little Prints workshop at the Royal Academy

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

How do you see me?

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Sensing Spaces workshop

Inside the Academy

> 9 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.

Print Fellow Liz Miller in the etching studio at the RA Schools

Artists

> 9 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.

Titian, Venus of Urbino

Opinion

< 10 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.

Will there be fewer fine artists in the future

Opinion

< 10 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

AttRAct Late

Inside the Academy

< 10 years ago

Happy birthday Sydney Smirke

A special late opening of ‘Sensing Spaces’ as part of our attRAct programme.

Funny Faces 9

Inside the Academy

< 10 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.

Burlington Gardens

Inside the Academy

10 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.