Supporting the Royal Academy Schools Restoration Project

For over 250 years the Royal Academy has been run by artists and funded by art lovers. The RA Schools, found in the heart of the building, has continued to be a key part of its foundation since 1769. With the generous support of the Marks Family Charitable Trust towards the restoration project, The RA Schools broke ground on the renewal of the campus in 2023.

Image Courtesy of Cat Garcia, 2023

The RA Schools offers a free, full-time, three-year programme to 17 postgraduate students each year. On this studio-based academic programme, critical discussion is developed through lectures, group critiques, tutorials and artist talks. Given the high student-to-tutor ratio, each student’s art practice is subject to in-depth and sustained discussion. The RA Schools provides a shared space for exchange and discussion in the development of each student’s practice across contemporary fine art media. The postgraduate scheme is free and offers financial support through bursaries and contributions to the cost of the materials.

 The RA School’s project, designed by Sir David Chipperfield RA, has sought to reveal the best aspects of the original Sydney Smirke design, restoring the historic fabric of the studios, and renewing the campus with new facilities and contemporary spaces. The project has included a new suits of workshops for casting, metalwork, woodwork, 3D printing, digital printing, traditional printmaking, photography, and moving image as well as a new RA Schools Library.

This project has allowed the RA to continue to provide our students with a place for making, exhibiting and debating and sustain it for the next 250 years.

RA facade, Burlington House [Image Courtesy of the Royal Academy of Arts, by London-Fraser Marr]

 Further Links

RA Schools https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/the-ra-schools

Royal Academy of Arts https://www.royalacademy.org.uk

Image Courtesy of Cat Garcia, 2023