The Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition
A long-established feature of the London arts scene
The Annual Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts has been a feature of the London “scene” since 1769. It has never missed a year — not even in wartime — which made the 2018 Exhibition the 250th.
It has always been popular, with the first event attracting 14,000 visitors during the four-and-a-half weeks that it was open. In 1787 the attendance was 50,000, and in 2015 it was 230,000.
So what is it? In a few words, it is a showcase of contemporary art by both established and emerging artists. Works can be submitted for consideration for inclusion by any artist, and a panel of the Academy chooses which ones to accept. There are always far more submissions than there is space available for their display, so the choice is never easy and sometimes controversial.
It has long been a tradition of the Summer Exhibition that the works are displayed cheek by jowl with each other — unlike in a traditional art gallery — so that as many works as possible can be displayed. The visitor is therefore faced with an “art explosion” in every room of the Exhibition.
The Summer Exhibition was originally housed at a former auction house on Pall Mall but moved to Somerset House on The Strand in 1780…
