LONDON.- The Royal Academy’s doors may be closed, but art-lovers can still experience a range of innovative online content and activity from the RA’s exhibitions, artists and architects.
Across its award-winning website and social media platforms, the RA is sharing video exhibition tours, interviews and highlights; fun family activities; the voices of the RA’s artists and architects; revisiting popular events and discussions; encouraging the nation to get its paint and pencils out; and offering creative inspiration for new ways of working and connecting.
Creative inspiration and relaxation
The #RAdailydoodle on Twitter is a fun daily invitation to audiences to be creative with subjects ranging from ham to home workspaces. So far, it has reached 9 million Twitter accounts with over 1000 drawings shared.
#MindfulMoments on Instagram offers audiences time to pause and reflect with the backdrop of works from the RA Collection.
Voices of leading artists and architects
In a new online guest column and on Instagram Stories, the Artists in Isolation series features leading artists and architects sharing their experiences of creativity during this time, beginning with the President of the Royal Academy, Rebecca Salter.
The free Royal Academy of Arts podcast is a place to listen to art and ideas. There are conversations with artists, architects and other leading creatives including Antony Gormley RA, Maggi Hambling, Yinka Shonibare RA, Tracey Emin RA, Michael Stipe and David Bailey.
Access to world-class exhibitions
The exhibition on Belgian artist Léon Spilliaert can still be experienced through a pioneering TV-style ‘slow-looking’ virtual tour of the galleries. This 25-minute video tour has already brought the exhibition to over 50,000 people in the last week.
Building on this success, the RA has created a 38-minute film of the major exhibition Picasso and Paper. In an additional short film, curator Ann Dumas offers an introduction to some of the highlights in the exhibition revealing how the iconic artist innovated by tearing, burning, sculpting and collaging with any paper he could get his hands on. Finally, Picasso can be seen making a masterpiece in an excerpt from ‘Le Mystère Picasso’, a documentary from 1956 capturing the artist in full creative flow.
A series of three ‘In 60 Seconds’ videos explore works from Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Ordrupgaard Collection, providing online access to the exhibition which was due to open last week. See a bite-sized biography of Gauguin and take a deep dive into Renoir’s ‘Le Moulin de la Galette’ and Manet’s ‘Woman with a Jug’.
Resources for families
A new resource hub for families and teachers offers a range of guides and activities for people at home including the RA’s 'Family how-to’ series of step-by-step family activities. Using easy-to-source materials, these activities are designed to teach techniques and encourage families to think creatively. Activities range from creating slime to crafting a relief print from polystyrene. Families can share a photo of the finished work on RA social media channels using #familyhowto.
The Young Artists’ Summer Show 2020 is open to all primary and secondary level students aged 5-19 (key stages 1-5) in the UK and attending British International School. It provides a unique opportunity for students to showcase their work on the RA’s website and in an exhibition at the RA. The RA is accepting submissions until the 24 April 2020. Students can enter their artworks via digital submissions in any media. These works will then be judged by a panel of expert judges in key stages and a selection of works will be exhibited in an online exhibition through the RA website from the 12 July 2020 and on-site later in the year.
