Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition

As the world’s largest open submission exhibition, The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition provides a unique platform for emerging and established artists and architects to showcase their works to an international audience, comprising a range of media from painting to printmaking, photography, sculpture, architecture and film. The Summer Exhibition 2015 will be co-ordinated by the leading British artist and influential teacher, Michael Craig-Martin RA. Michael Craig-Martin grew up in the United States and studied Fine Art at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture and, on completion of his studies in 1966, moved to London. His work, including painting, printmaking, installations projections and drawing, depicts common place objects.

One of the founding principles of the Royal Academy of Arts was to ‘mount an annual exhibition open to all artists of distinguished merit’ to finance the training of young artists in the Royal Academy Schools. The RA Schools offers the only free three-year postgraduate programme in Europe. This link between the Summer Exhibition and the Schools is one that Michael Craig Martin particularly values: “It is not always fully appreciated that the funds raised by the Summer Exhibition contribute towards the funding of the RA Schools which are the only graduate art school in England which does not charge tuition fees.” Sponsorship for the exhibition is provided by Insight Investment. Abdallah Nauphal, Chief Executive Officer of Insight Investment, said: “Insight continues to cherish this partnership.

Our shared values are highlighted by the tremendous array of artwork you see on the walls and in the galleries of the exhibition: the pursuit of excellence; the potency of creative thinking; and the power of the imagination are all on display. Over £60,000 is offered in awards and prizes for every category of work in the Summer Exhibition. This year the Royal Academy received 12,000 entries, from which a committee of Royal Academicians, will make a selection to hang on the walls of the Main Galleries in Burlington House. Over 1,200 artworks will go on display, the majority of which will be for sale offering visitors an opportunity to purchase original artwork by high profile and up-and-coming artists. The Summer Exhibition opens on Monday 8 June and will run until Sunday 16 August. You can find more information on the website here.

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