An exhibition marks a moment. It can define a movement, highlight an artist or characterise an institution.
The RWA boasts a rich and fascinating history of past exhibitors and exhibitions dating back to its inaugural group show in 1845. Since then it has shown Canaletto, Rembrandt and Velasquez in a celebration of old masters, as well as bringing Gauguin, Bonnard and Rodin to the provinces in a seminal RWA exhibition on French Modern Art, 1930.
This spring the RWA will be working with students on the University of Bristol’s MA course in Art History to curate an exhibition that explores our ‘collective exhibition history’. The exhibition looks at art and its documentation, retracing the past and exploring the concept of absence and memory. The exhibition will focus on works from the permanent collection to bring the Academy’s exhibition history to life, using archival objects including catalogues, photos and show posters to address not just what we remember, but how we remember.