Articles
Podcasts
From short stories read by leading novelists to artists and experts in conversation, catch up on events at the RA with our podcasts.
RA Recommends
< 3 years ago
9 art podcasts to keep you inspired during lockdown
Plug in your headphones, sit back and relax with one of these podcasts, transporting you into the art world from the comfort of your front room.
RA Recommends
> 4 years ago
Gwendoline Christie presents the RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award
Sophie Ward is the winner of the 2018 RA and Pin Drop short story award: hear Ward’s story, ‘Sunbed’, read aloud to a live audience by actress Gwendoline Christie.
RA Exhibitions
< 5 years ago
Podcast catch-up: Technology is the answer, but what was the question?
A series of talks considered the title’s provocation, by architect Cedric Price. Catch up on all the events here…
RA Recommends
< 5 years ago
Feminist futures: event recording round-up
Catch up on our series of events exploring possible feminist futures – from the power of art practice as a catalyst for social change to automation in architecture, moving image as language, and alternative artistic platforms.
RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
Event recording: short stories with Pin Drop and Graham Swift
Catch up on an evening of short stories told by Man Booker Prize-winning author Graham Swift.
RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
Podcast round-up – Charles I: King and Collector
Catch up with recordings of events surrounding our exhibition reuniting the extraordinary art collection of Charles I.
RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Podcast round-up: Dalí / Duchamp
Catch up with our events surrounding the exhibition, from an introductory talk by exhibition co-curator Professor Dawn Ades CBE FBA, to a close look at a key work from the show – Dalí’s ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’.
RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Short stories with Pin Drop and Lisa Dwan
Catch up on a special evening with critically acclaimed actress Lisa Dwan reading from ‘Foirades/Fizzles’ by Samuel Beckett, a unique collection of short prose published in collaboration with Jasper Johns in 1972.
RA Recommends
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Aino Aalto – forgotten master of architecture
Aino Marsio-Aalto belongs to a line of women architects whose work has been overshadowed by that of their better-known male partners. Our panel discuss her often overlooked contribution to Nordic Modernist architecture – considered by some to be the greatest omission in design history.
RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Podcast: An introduction to ‘Second Nature: The Art of Charles Tunnicliffe RA’
Catch up on a talk by Professor Robert Meyrick, Head of the School of Art at Aberystwyth University, for an introduction to the life and wildlife illustrations of Charles Tunnicliffe.
Artists
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Brice Marden and Gary Hume RA in conversation with Tim Marlow
The two artists discuss their new work and the status of painting today, in a discussion chaired by the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow.
RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Matisse’s portraits
In the studio, Matisse battled between portraying a physical resemblance of his sitter and what he understood to be their more lasting, essential character. Co-curator Ellen McBreen explores how the artist explored the possibilities of portraiture throughout his career.
RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Podcast: cultural appropriation in the arts
Artists Yinka Shonibare RA and WESSIELING join ‘Matisse in the Studio’ co-curator Ellen McBreen to examine the ethical and artistic considerations of cultural appropriation within the arts, in a discussion chaired by writer and broadcaster Bidisha.
RA Recommends
> 5 years ago
International Architects Series: podcast round-up
The International Architects Series aims to provide a regular London platform for some of the most innovative architects practicing around the world today.
RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Podcast round-up – Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’
Catch up on talks at the RA surrounding our autumn exhibition of the pioneering American artist.
Artists
> 5 years ago
Podcast: How can performance art be collected, preserved, displayed and sold?
Catch up on our panel event with this recording of artists Brian Catling RA and Pablo Bronstein in discussion with Tate Senior Curator Catherine Wood and Dr Jen Harvie.
RA Recommends
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Daniel Buren’s new art installation at Tottenham Court Road station
Catch up with the conversation between conceptual artist Daniel Buren and the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow, celebrating Buren’s colourful new commission at Tottenham Court Road tube station.
RA Recommends
> 5 years ago
Podcast: The RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017
Hear Cherise Saywell’s winning story read aloud to a live audience by actress Dame Penelope Wilton, followed by a discussion of the work with the author.
Artists
< 6 years ago
Podcast: Maggi Hambling in conversation with Tim Marlow
Painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling discusses her work with the RA’s Artistic Director, Tim Marlow.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Podcast round-up: Futures found – the real and imagined cityscapes of post-war Britain
Part of our current ‘Futures Found’ architecture programme, these podcasts explore the contrasts between the ambitions for Britain’s new post-war cityscapes and the varied futures that were subsequently created.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Podcast round-up – America After the Fall: Painting in the 1930s
Catch up on talks at the RA surrounding our exhibition America After the Fall: Painting in the 1930s.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Podcast: Black art and activism
Artists Sonia Boyce RA, Dr Kimathi Donkor and Jacob V Joyce join arts practitioner and academic Dr Michael McMillan to discuss whether black artists today are expected to challenge global and national issues of race and representation.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Podcast: the influences of American Gothic
Art historian R. Tripp Evans delves deep into the significance and origins of Grant Wood’s iconic painting, one of the works in the RA’s exhibition America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930s.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Podcast: art of the 1930s American dream
Professor Sarah Churchwell examines the political, cultural and aesthetic contexts of the RA exhibition ‘America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930s’, which includes works by Grant Wood, Edward Hopper and Georgia O’Keeffe.
RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Revolution: Russia 1917-1932: podcast round-up
Catch up on events at the RA surrounding our exhibition of art during the Russian Revolution.
RA Recommends
6 years ago
Pin Drop: short stories with Siân Phillips and Eileen Atkins
The RA and Pin Drop bring you a very special evening of readings by two of Britain’s leading actors of the stage and screen, Dame Siân Phillips and Dame Eileen Atkins, drawing from the best Russian literature.
RA Exhibitions
6 years ago
Intrigue: James Ensor by Luc Tuymans: podcast round-up
Three podcasts explore the work and life of James Ensor, with the RA’s Senior Curator, Adrian Locke, contemporary Belgian painter, Luc Tuymans, and conservator Herwig Todts offering a closer look at Ensor’s eclectic career.
RA Exhibitions
6 years ago
Abstract Expressionism: podcast round-up
From a curator’s introduction to reflections on 1950s New York, catch up on discussions surrounding our Abstract Expressionism exhibition.
Artists
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Yinka Shonibare MBE RA and David Shrigley in conversation with Dr Gilda Williams
In conversation with the art critic and lecturer, Gilda Williams, the two artists discuss their new work, as well as experiences creating pieces for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
RA Recommends
> 6 years ago
Podcast: David Bailey in conversation with Tim Marlow
In conversation with the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow, legendary photographer and filmmaker David Bailey discusses his influential work and innovative portrait photographs from the last 60 years.
RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Juliet Stevenson reads the winning entry of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award
The RA hosted the second RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. Here, Juliet Stevenson reads A Quiet Tidy Man by Claire Fuller.
RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
David Hockney: podcast round-up
From a curator’s introduction to reflections on portraiture from academics and artists, catch up on discussions surrounding our David Hockney exhibition.
RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Richard Wilson RA in conversation with Tim Marlow
The sculptor discusses his critically acclaimed work with the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow, and the challenges that faced him when co-ordinating this year’s Summer Exhibition.
RA Exhibitions
< 7 years ago
In the Age of Giorgione: podcast round-up
From a discussion on the issues of attribution to a debate on portrayals of age and beauty, catch up on all our discussions surrounding the exhibition, In the Age of Giorgione.
RA Exhibitions
< 7 years ago
Mavericks: podcast round-up
Catch up on our recent event series on the mavericks of architecture – those who have pushed the genre’s boundaries and defied its conventions.
Inside the Academy
< 7 years ago
Podcast: short stories with Ben Okri
In partnership with Pin Drop, Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri reads one of his short stories.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Podcast: Women in focus
Does being a female artist influence how a work is created and perceived? Our panel discuss.
Opinion
7 years ago
Podcast: Tony Fretton and Ellis Woodman discuss the work of James Gowan
Tony Fretton and Ellis Woodman discuss the powerful, yet often overlooked contribution of James Gowan to twentieth-century British architecture.
RA Recommends
7 years ago
Architecture and freedom: podcast round-up
It’s Architecture and Freedom season at the RA, meaning a host of events, lectures and debates. Catch up with our podcasts.
RA Exhibitions
7 years ago
Liotard: podcast round-up
From a curator’s introduction to the work of Liotard, to experts discussing the artist’s use of pastel and his depiction of costume, we present a round-up of podcasts on this eccentric and skilful artist.
Artists
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Chris Wilkinson and Humphrey Ocean on drawing
Architect Chris Wilkinson RA and painter Humphrey Ocean RA discuss what it is to draw, and why the process is central to their work.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Ai Weiwei: podcast round-up
From a curator’s introduction to the work of Ai Weiwei, to Cornelia Parker RA discussing the artist’s destructive techniques, we present a round-up of podcasts on our blockbuster exhibition.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Niall McLaughlin and Kim Wilkie in conversation
Architect Niall McLaughlin and landscape architect Kim Wilkie talk about their plans for the entrance grounds of the Natural History Museum.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Podcast: short stories with Will Self
In partnership with Pin Drop, the highly acclaimed and award-winning author Will Self read his short story, ‘The Shore’.
Artists
> 7 years ago
Podcast: William Kentridge Hon RA in conversation with Tim Marlow
Internationally acclaimed artist William Kentridge Hon RA discusses his career and work with the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Joseph Cornell: podcast round-up
From a curatorial introduction to the work of Joseph Cornell, to in-depth discussions of the artist’s relationship to Surrealism, here are three essential podcasts.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Joseph Cornell, Surrealism and time
Listen to a discussion exploring Joseph Cornell’s relationship with Surrealism, his engagement with the concept of time and the ongoing dialogue in his work between the ephemeral and the eternal.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Cultivating creative cities
As part of the London Festival of Architecture, we debated how creativity can be nurtured and sustained in a global city like London.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: A journey from Rainham to the Thames
Urban landscape architect Peter Beard discusses his latest project for opening Rainham Marsh to the public, with a walkway to the River Thames.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Sir Peter Blake in conversation with Tim Marlow
Celebrated British artist Sir Peter Blake tells Tim Marlow why the work of Joseph Cornell has fascinated him throughout his career.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Stephen Fry reads the winning story of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award
The RA hosted the inaugural RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. Here, Stephen Fry reads a story of youthful first love.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Conrad Shawcross RA in conversation
The Royal Academician discusses the way in which his sculptures explore geometry, philosophy, physics and metaphysics.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Michael Craig-Martin RA in conversation
Celebrated artist and this year’s Summer Exhibition Coordinator, Michael Craig-Martin RA discusses some of the ideas and events that have shaped his achievements as an artist and teacher.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Eileen Cooper RA in conversation
In this conversation with art writer Anna McNay, Eileen Cooper RA explains the role of drawing in her work and how her engagement with materials provides a direct channel to her imagination.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Frank Auerbach in conversation with Tim Marlow
Coinciding with the publication of Catherine Lampert’s ‘Frank Auerbach: Speaking and Painting’, Tim Marlow talks to the painter Frank Auerbach
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Howard Jacobson’s Annual Dinner speech
Man Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson on the “urgent necessity of play” at the Royal Academy’s Annual Dinner 2015.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: new realities of ownership
Since the housing crisis, the concept of home ownership has changed beyond recognition. Our panel of experts addresses the issue.
Inside the Academy
> 7 years ago
Friends Week 2015: The highlights
The inaugural Friends Week at the Royal Academy featured a packed programme of talks and events. If you missed it – don’t despair. Here are some of the highlights.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: city, country, suburb?
With a panel including a surveyor, an academic, an urban design expert and the head of a charity, this talk tackles the issue of where to build new housing.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: the upsides of good housing
In this event, a range of speakers examine the characteristics of places where people enjoy living and communities thrive, and discuss whether these can be applied in the future.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Bernard Tschumi and Jacques Gubler discuss Jean Tschumi
Part of our Forgotten Masters series, and in association with Docomomo, this talk addresses the life of architect Jean Tschumi.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: the psychology of home
Continuing with our Future of Housing season, a panel of experts discuss how we might design homes that are appropriate and beneficial places to live.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Bob and Roberta Smith RA on printmaking and art education
Famous for his letter to Michael Gove, the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA talks about the value of art in the school curriculum and the importance of visual communication since the beginning of civilisation.
RA Exhibitions
> 7 years ago
Podcast: curator Robert Meyrick on printmaker Stanley Anderson RA
Professor Robert Meyrick, co-curator of the RA’s Stanley Anderson exhibition, introduces the artist, best known for his series of prints memorialising England’s vanishing rural crafts.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Podcast: Winy Maas on the future of housing
A talk by Winy Mass, the founder of MVRDV, one of world’s most innovative architectural practices.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
An introduction to Richard Diebenkorn
Curator Edith Devaney explores the life and work of Richard Diebenkorn.
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Women in today’s art world
At an event celebrating International Women’s Day, a panel of female Academicians and students discuss their experience as 21st-century artists.
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: When modern art meets religious iconography
How has modern and contemporary art responded to the visual narratives of Christianity? The former Bishop of Oxford speaks to Tim Marlow.
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Counting the costs of the housing crisis
In the first event in our Future of Housing season, a panel of speakers considers the effects and implications of the UK’s housing crisis.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Gretchen Diebenkorn Grant on Richard Diebenkorn
The daughter of Richard Diebenkorn discusses the life and work of the artist.
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Dialogues: Movement and Space
In this podcast, a choreographer, an architect and an historian explore how our perception and comprehension of the world is shaped by the body and movement.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Rubens and the Impressionists
Art historian and curator MaryAnne Stevens explores the impact of Rubens on the Impressionists.
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: David Crystal on his new book ‘Words in Time and Place’
How would Rubens have described the weather? Is the language of Downton Abbey accurate?
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Tatiana Bilbao
Mexican architect, Tatiana Bilbao, discusses her recent projects and the relationship between people and place throughout her work.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Rubens, Rembrandt and Watteau
Nico Van Hout, curator at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, explores the thread of Rubens’s influence through art history.
Opinion
< 8 years ago
Podcast: David Hills and Edmund de Waal in conversation
This special event, part of a series exploring the creative spaces of artist’s studios, examines the intersection between art and architecture.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Podcast: short stories with Sebastian Faulks
Award-winning and best-selling novelist Sebastian Faulks CBE reads a short story selected in response to our ‘Rubens and His Legacy’ exhibition.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Allen Jones, ‘Chair’
This intimate salon explores Allen Jones’s controversial work ‘Chair’ and its changing status as a piece of fine art, an erotic sculpture and an object of attack.
RA Exhibitions
< 8 years ago
Podcast: Richard Diebenkorn, A Riotous Calm
Exhibition curator Sarah C. Bancroft explores Richard Diebenkorn’s consuming attention to detail and improvisational process that led to his magnificent compositions.
RA Exhibitions
8 years ago
Podcast: An introduction to ‘Rubens and His Legacy’
Curator Arturo Galansino considers the artistic legacy of Peter Paul Rubens in this introductory lecture.
RA Exhibitions
8 years ago
Podcast: Charles Stewart lunchtime lecture
Curator Amanda Doran, in conversation with Sue Bradbury, former editorial director of the Folio Society, discusses the illustrator Charles Stewart.
Opinion
8 years ago
Podcast and video: Rubens and body image in art
Professor Germaine Greer, Dr Tom Shakespeare, Grayson Perry RA and Professor Mary Beard discuss the role art plays in creating and communicating body image.
Opinion
8 years ago
Podcast: A.S. Byatt discusses the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm
Novelists A. S. Byatt and Lawrence Norfolk venture together into Germany’s dark woods to discover witches, goblins, lost children and treasure.
Opinion
8 years ago
Podcast: Jonathan Yeo discusses Giovanni Battista Moroni
As part of a series of events surrounding the exhibition of works by Giovanni Battista Moroni, contemporary portrait painter Jonathan Yeo talks to the RA’s Tim Marlow about the portraits of the Renaissance artist.
RA Exhibitions
8 years ago
Podcast: Art critic Jonathan Jones discusses Moroni’s portrait ‘The Tailor’
Jonathan Jones of The Guardian explores the reasons why Giovanni Battista Moroni’s portrait ‘The Tailor’ is one of the greatest paintings in London.
RA Exhibitions
8 years ago
Podcast: Anselm Kiefer’s Heroic Symbols
A panel discussion reconsiders Anselm Kiefer’s 1969 book ‘Heroic Symbols’ which documented his provocative performance art project known as ‘Occupations’.
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Podcast: An introduction to Moroni by curator Arturo Galansino
From the small northern Italian town of Bergamo emerged one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th-century. Who was Giovanni Battista Moroni?
Artists
> 8 years ago
In conversation with Frank Bowling RA
Royal Academician Frank Bowling discusses his working practices, his desire to make “pure painting” and the changing reactions to his work throughout his lifetime.
Inside the Academy
> 8 years ago
Short stories with Graham Swift
The Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Waterland’ and ‘Last Orders’ reads from his latest collection ‘England and Other Stories’. In partnership with Pin Drop.
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Podcast: Curator Kathleen Soriano on Kiefer’s iconography
How does artist Anselm Kiefer use mythology, history, literature, philosophy and science in his work? What meanings do lead, straw, fire, earth, and water hold for him?
Inside the Academy
> 8 years ago
Short stories with Lionel Shriver
Orange Prize-winning novelist Lionel Shriver treats us to a short story reading.
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Anselm Kiefer and the German Forest
Art Historian Christian Weikop leads us into the ‘deep dark wood’ of Anselm Kiefer’s paintings to learn why representations of trees and forests feature so often in his work.
Inside the Academy
> 8 years ago
Rafael Moneo: Annual Architecture Lecture
This summer the RA’s 24th Annual Architecture Lecture was given by Pritzker Prize-winning Spanish Architect, Rafael Moneo in the inspiring setting of the Summer Exhibition.
Inside the Academy
> 8 years ago
Short stories with Tim Winton
Internationally esteemed novelist Tim Winton reads from his collection of short stories ‘The Turning’.
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Summer Exhibition Edit: Amber Jane Butchart
We’ve challenged three guest speakers to choose the five works in this year’s Summer Exhibition that intrigue them the most. Fashion historian and DJ Amber Jane Butchart guides us through her favourite works.
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Summer Exhibition Edit: Will Gompertz
We’ve challenged three guest speakers to choose the five works in this year’s Summer Exhibition that intrigue them the most. BBC’s Arts Editor Will Gompertz attempts to narrow down his top picks from the plethora of works on display.
RA Exhibitions
> 8 years ago
Summer Exhibition Edit: Susie Allen
We’ve challenged three guest speakers to choose the five works in this year’s Summer Exhibition that intrigue them the most. Curator Susie Allen guides us through her picks, which all relate to the concept of space.
RA Exhibitions
< 9 years ago
Experimentations in Chiaroscuro: Beccafumi’s Prints, Oil Sketches and Marble Intarsia
National Gallery curator, Dr. Jennifer Sliwka, discusses the works of Domenico Beccafumi.
RA Exhibitions
< 9 years ago
Renaissance Impressions: An Introduction
Exhibition curator Arturo Galansino introduces ‘Renaissance Impressions’.
RA Exhibitions
< 9 years ago
Short stories with William Boyd and Ed Stoppard
William Boyd and Ed Stoppard read short stories in the galleries of ‘Sensing Spaces’.
RA Exhibitions
< 9 years ago
Creating ‘Sensing Spaces’
Curator Kate Goodwin explains the process behind the development and creation of this exhibition.
RA Exhibitions
9 years ago
Becoming an architect
Ivan Harbour and Tracy Meller of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners discuss what attracted them to architecture as a career
RA Exhibitions
9 years ago
Honoré Daumier and Quentin Blake
Illustrator Quentin Blake is in conversation with arts educator Ghislaine Kenyon to discuss Daumier’s journalism.
Artists
9 years ago
Timothy Hill: architecture in Australia
Architect Timothy Hill discusses his current projects and reflects on the conditions of architecture in Australia.
Artists
9 years ago
Tim Winton: the island seen and felt
Author Tim Winton explores his belief that ‘Australia the place is constantly overshadowed by Australia the national idea.‘
Artists
9 years ago
Shaun Gladwell: performance landscapes
Internationally acclaimed Australian contemporary artist Shaun Gladwell discusses his video ‘performance landscapes’.
RA Exhibitions
> 9 years ago
The Antipodean dream
Catch up on our fascinating event with ‘Australia’ exhibition artist Imants Tillers.
RA Exhibitions
> 9 years ago
Land and landscape: the colonial encounter
A lecture by Ron Radford, Director of the National Gallery of Australia.
RA Exhibitions
> 9 years ago
A tale of two countries
Catch up with the podcast of our lecture with Dr Sarah Scott, from the Australian National University.