Articles
Opinion
Opinion
20 days ago
“It has never been more important that we play our part in the art community and the recovery ahead”
Covid-19 has pushed arts institutions to their limits. President of the Royal Academy, Rebecca Salter, and our Secretary and Chief Executive, Axel Rüger, reflect on the challenges faced by the RA.
Opinion
9 months ago
“There’s a conversation that’s gone wrong, that hasn’t been listened to.”
In 1982 Isaac Julien RA documented the suspicious killing of a black man in a London police station with Who Killed Colin Roach? After the killing of George Floyd in the USA, he questions whether anything has changed.
Opinion
11 months ago
“We listen to the air-raid sirens sounding the start of curfew, as the sun disappears into Palestine.”
As part of our ‘Artists in Isolation’ series, Stephen Farthing RA describes life in locked-down Jordan – how he hopes to finish his next painting before lockdown ends, and how the local call to prayer has been louder since COVID-19.
Opinion
12 months ago
“Who knows how many new talents will pick up a pencil, brush or iPad in isolation?”
These are difficult times for everyone – but art thrives in a crisis, says Rebecca Salter PRA, as we launch a new series of artists and architects documenting their creativity in isolation.
Opinion
> 1 year ago
“Schools are failing our children. The solution lies in art education.”
As art-making is ebbed out of schools across the country, we overlook the skills it delivers – strengths that should be the envy of “proper” academic education, says Michael Craig-Martin.
Opinion
> 2 years ago
“Cultural leaders are made, not born” – a manifesto for arts education
The director of the RA’s new Master in Cultural Leadership programme argues for a new approach in postgraduate education.
RA Exhibitions
< 3 years ago
We need to talk about Charles I’s “pet dwarf”
With a portrait of “The Queen’s Dwarf” on display at the RA, Tom Shakespeare argues we need to look beyond the painting’s spectacle to consider the person it’s depicting – and the uncomfortable truths it still carries today.
Opinion
> 3 years ago
“Architecture impacts everyone. We need to inspire greater visual and spatial literacy for all”
Architecture is part of our culture and society, and the conversation about it should be accessible to everyone. That’s why the RA pledged to champion architecture 250 years ago, and why we’re renewing that commitment now, says Head of Architecture Kate Goodwin.
Opinion
> 3 years ago
“Brutalism is back – but its fetishisation comes at a cost”
Post-war concrete architecture is finding its way into magazines, blogs and Instagram feeds – but its commodified comeback is completely at odds with Brutalism’s social agenda, argues architectural critic Catherine Slessor.
Opinion
< 4 years ago
Debate: should artists unionise?
Is an artists’ union necessary? Bob and Roberta Smith RA and David Mach RA share their thoughts. Cast your vote below.
RA Exhibitions
< 4 years ago
“No one should be ashamed of their art hero”
Mentioning the quirky, non-conformist style of Anthony Green at my art school interview drew sniggers – but it was Green’s very idiosyncrasies that taught me to think for myself, says artist and RA Schools tutor Mark Hampson.
Opinion
4 years ago
“The 21st century is proving pretty nasty. Let’s reflect on art’s relationship with our times.”
A hundred years on from the Russian Revolution and the Great Depression, should artists get involved in politics like the Constructivists? Or should they remain distant like Thomas Hart Benton? Having the choice is fortune indeed, says artist Bob and Roberta Smith.
RA Recommends
> 4 years ago
Three female gallerists who changed the course of British art
Despite the image of art dealing as a man’s world, women played a crucial role in the display, promotion and sale of 20th-century British art. Gill Hedley profiles three female gallerists who promoted British artists.
Opinion
> 4 years ago
Why EBacc must not exclude the arts
The English Baccalaureate currently excludes arts subjects from compulsory study. As plans go ahead for a parliamentary debate on 4 July, our artists and architects ask for your support in keeping creative subjects at the heart of education.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Frank Auerbach in conversation with Tim Marlow
Coinciding with the publication of Catherine Lampert’s ‘Frank Auerbach: Speaking and Painting’, Tim Marlow talks to the painter Frank Auerbach
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: new realities of ownership
Since the housing crisis, the concept of home ownership has changed beyond recognition. Our panel of experts addresses the issue.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: city, country, suburb?
With a panel including a surveyor, an academic, an urban design expert and the head of a charity, this talk tackles the issue of where to build new housing.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: the upsides of good housing
In this event, a range of speakers examine the characteristics of places where people enjoy living and communities thrive, and discuss whether these can be applied in the future.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Bob and Roberta Smith RA on printmaking and art education
Famous for his letter to Michael Gove, the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA talks about the value of art in the school curriculum and the importance of visual communication since the beginning of civilisation.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Podcast: Winy Maas on the future of housing
A talk by Winy Mass, the founder of MVRDV, one of world’s most innovative architectural practices.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Are we building too many museums?
Would building more museums help to improve society or be a wasteful luxury? Theatre-maker Stella Duffy and curator Kieran Long go head to head. Read both sides then vote in the poll below.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Paolozzi’s threatened Tottenham Court Road mosaics
As parts of Eduardo Paolozzi RA’s mosaics are removed from Tottenham Court Road tube station ahead of Crossrail, Richard Cork hopes that Transport for London will honour its promises.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Podcast: Women in today’s art world
At an event celebrating International Women’s Day, a panel of female Academicians and students discuss their experience as 21st-century artists.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Podcast: When modern art meets religious iconography
How has modern and contemporary art responded to the visual narratives of Christianity? The former Bishop of Oxford speaks to Tim Marlow.