Open House at the RA 2019
Friday 20 September - Saturday 21 September 2019
Royal Academy of Arts
Free, no booking required
Come and see us this Open House for a weekend of free architectural and library tours, as well as drop-in workshops for all the family.
Join us for a series of free walking tours exploring our historic buildings. Led by an expert guide, the tours focus on our Burlington House and Burlington Gardens sites respectively and highlight the major redevelopment unveiled last year which linked them together for the first time. The new design has meant that visitors can now move easily from our 17th-century Piccadilly mansion, Burlington House, through to the 19th-century former university building, Burlington Gardens.
Lasting 30 minutes each, this is an opportunity to learn about the architecture and different uses of the spaces, as well as to ask your guide any questions about the building or RA more generally.
Architectural Tours
Saturday and Sunday
Tours are free, last 30 minutes and no booking is required. The tour meeting point is in the front hall of the respective building.
Saturday 21 September
10.30 - 11am | Burlington Gardens tour
11.30 - 12noon | Burlington House tour
12.30 - 1pm | Burlington Gardens tour
3pm - 4pm | Architectural highlights tour (meet in Burlington Gardens front hall)
Sunday 22 September
10.30 - 11am | Burlington Gardens tour
11.30 - 12noon | Burlington House tour
12.30 - 1pm | Burlington Gardens tour
3pm - 4pm | Architectural highlights tour (meet in Burlington Gardens front hall)
Library Tours
Saturday 21 September, 2pm and 4pm
Gain special insight into the UK’s oldest institutional fine arts library in this free RA Library tour.
Join Adam Waterton, Head of Library Services here at the RA, as he talks about our architectural history using highlights from the library’s collection including early printed books, architectural drawings and photographs.
Library tours take place at 2pm and 4pm, are one hour long and are limited to 16 people. Tours meet in the entrance hall of Burlington House and you can sign up for a place on the tour during the day.
Family studio: shape up
Sunday 22 September, 11am - 3pm
Imagine your own imaginary cityscape and bring it to life with sustainable materials in this drop-in family workshop. Work together to create an ink mural of a floating city or use recycled newspaper to make weird and wonderful structures.