Grayson Perry on humour in art

This event can be enjoyed in person at the Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, or via a digital livestream.
Please note, this event can only be watched live. A recording will not be available to livestream ticket holders.

As part of a series of six special talks by artists and architects, Grayson Perry will be discussing “performative seriousness” in art and examining what it means to be an artist today.

Winner of the 2003 Turner prize, Sir Grayson Perry CBE RA is one of Britain’s best-known contemporary artists. Working with a range of traditional media including ceramics, cast iron, bronze, printmaking and tapestry, he is a great chronicler of contemporary life. His work explores issues from class and politics, sex and religion, Brexit and divided Britain. He is also a multi-award-winning television presenter working on a series on class, identity and masculinity for Channel 4 and the popular series Art Club.

This special lecture is part of our Artists on Art series, a set of six lectures by leading artists and architects, exploring art-making, art education and creativity today. 2023 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy’s first president, who lectured on the role of artists and art education at the RA Schools in his ground-breaking Discourses on Art.

Since our foundation over 250 years ago the Royal Academy has been a place for artists, where art is taught, made and shaped. Inspired by the questions Reynolds first posed, Artists on Art addresses what it means to be an artist in the 21st century.

The event will be accompanied by speech to text transcription courtesy of Stagetext.