Assemble RA Elect
New Royal Academician
Wednesday 22 March 2023
6.30 — 8pm
Open House at the RA
Special events
16—17 September 2017
Open House at the RA
Join us for Open House London as we open the doors of our home, Burlington House.
Dating originally from the 1660s, Burlington House has been our home since 1867. Over the years, it has seen impressive additions by such celebrated architects as Sydney Smirke, Norman Shaw and Foster + Partners. Continuing that rich history, Burlington Gardens, originally built in the 1860s, is currently the focus of a major redevelopment of the RA’s site by David Chipperfield Architects, due for completion in 2018. Read more about redeveloping the RA.
As part of the RA’s Open House London weekend, enjoy a range of events, activities and displays for all ages as you explore our buildings’s hidden spaces and learn about four centuries of architecture.
More programme details to be announced…
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
16—17 September 2017
Royal Academy of Arts
Free, no booking required
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Architectural tours
Saturday 16 and Sunday 17, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm
Discover the art, architecture and history of the Royal Academy on these free one-hour tours. Join our knowledgeable guides as they reveal the stories behind both the familiar parts and hidden corners of Burlington House. Along the way, find out how our building has evolved from a town palace in the heart of London to the purpose-built galleries you see today.
Meet in the Front Hall, tours last one hour
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Artists' handling boxes
Saturday 16 and Sunday 17, 1-4pm
Discover the RA’s architectural heritage while exploring the historic John Madejski Fine Rooms. Delve into our boxes of artist materials and tools and find out how the RA’s masterpieces were created. Originally designed for grand social occasions in the 18th century, the John Madejski Fine Rooms are now hung with works by Royal Academicians.
Start in the Saloon, one of the finest Palladian interiors in London, and discover our tactile handling boxes. Full of materials and tools used by artists in the 17th and 18th centuries, they give great insight into how artists created their masterpieces.
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Architectural Lego making
Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September, 10am-6pm
Create your very own masterpiece out of Lego at this drop-in activity.
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Sculpture sketching
Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September, 10am-6pm
In his new installation, Richard Deacon RA has selected a wide variety of sculptures from the RA Collection, ranging from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Many of the works represent people in the form of portrait busts, mythological scenes and nude figures. There’s a teddy boy and girl, a study for Eros and a well-toned naked man, stretching. There are gods, actors and scientists. And there are also a dozen animals to be found in the display including flying horses, a spitting cat and a militarised mouse.
Have a go at sketching these sculptures at our free-drop in activity, open throughout the weekend.
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Still-life sketching in RA Schools
Saturday 16 September, 10am-6pm
An integral part of an artist’s training in the Royal Academy Schools was drawing from the life model, which still takes place in the Life Drawing Room. Students often drew from the Academy’s collection of casts, taken from the finest sculptural fragments of Ancient Greece and Rome, as well as from the great Renaissance sculpture. Have a go at sketching casts and sculpture fragments, or our still life scene.
Free, drop in
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Library tours
Saturday 16 September, 2pm and 4pm
Established at the time of the Academy’s foundation in 1768 to serve the needs of the Members of the Royal Academy and students in its Schools, the RA Library is the oldest institutional fine arts library in the United Kingdom. Join Adam Waterton, the RA’s Head of Library Services, as he talks visitors through the RA’s architectural history and current redevelopment ahead of our 250th anniversary in 2018.
RA Library, tours at 2pm and 4pm. Spaces limited, sign up on the day
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