Saturday, November 19, 2011

Royal Society of British Artists: Call for Entries

The Autumn always brings lots of Calls for Entries - and this is the third this week on this blog - so apologies to my international readers!

This Call for Entries is for the Open Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists which will be held next year between 29th February and 10th March 2012.

I've missed the last two exhibitions due to a combination of problems with the winter weather and inability to walk any great distance - so I'm really hoping I can get to see this exhibition this year.

Who can enter?

This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members.

International artists need to deal with a carrier which will unwrap the artwork, store the packing material and repack it at the end of the exhibition if the work has not sold. This service is not available at the receiving gallery.

A selection of works from the website of the Royal Society of British Artists
click here to see more work
What can you enter
The exhibition includes works from both members and non-members and represents every form of media including fine art, prints and sculpture.

Number of works:  Maximum of six works submitted - three of which can be original framed prints. Maximum of four works selected. 

Acceptable media: Any medium including sculpture and original prints (please detail edition and how many are available).


Other criteria: All works must be for sale. Minimum price: £300, unframed prints: £120.

Presentation of work:  
  • All works must be framed 
  • Metal and clip frames are inadmissible 
  • Prior notice required of any art taller than 2.4m (8ft) 
  • all work has to be submitted unwrapped and no packing materials will be stored
How to enter

The submission is digital with online entry via the Mall Galleries website. (see my post for more details about this - NEW two-stage digital pre-selection process for FBA Exhibitions).  Artists, the Society and the Gallery all benefit from the pre-screening due to reduced costs of processing and handling artwork.  For the 2012 exhibition, artists can bypass the digital pre-screening process and hand in artwork on the submission day.

Registration and Fees
Digital submission

The basic process and requirements for digital images are as follows
  • register and obtain artist login
  • upload a digital image of all works you plan to submit
    • Image files may be JPG (recommended) or PNG at no more than 4MB in size
    • There should be no symbols (such as *'()?<>" etc) in the filename of your image
    • The system will accept varying resolutions and image dimensions
  • those which pass the initial pre-screening will be invited to submit work to the gallery in London
Dates and Deadlines

See this post about the new procedure for digital submission.

Dates and Deadlines
Registration & digital submission opens1 November 2011
Registration & digital submission closesThursday 15 December 2011, 12noon
Notification of pre-selection (on Mall Galleries website)Tuesday 20 December 2011
Receiving Days
(this year includes submission by those who have NOT submitted work for pre-selection)
Friday 13 and Saturday 14 January, 10am-5pm
Regional hand-in datescheck this link
Bristol
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol on first receiving day from 12pm – 3pm.
Contact Art Moves
Surrey, Sussex and Kent
Contact Art Moves
Edinburgh, Perth, Glasgow, Dumfries, Carlisle, Kendal, Preston, Lancaster, Penrith, Manchester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Birmingham And DoncasterContact Picture Post direct at least two weeks before our London receiving days
Penzance, Totnes, Exeter & Southampton Contact South Hams Express
Collection of unaccepted workSaturday 21 January or Wednesday 25 January 2012, 10am-5pm
Exhibition (open to public)Opens to public: Tuesday 14 February, 10am-5pm including weekends
Closes: Saturday 25 February, 2pm
Collection of unsold workThursday 15 March 2012, 10am - 5pm

Awards and Prizes

The RBA has secured a wide variety of sponsors for its awards and prizes.

Who can apply for membership?
It is advantageous for candidates to have had their work accepted and shown at several annual RBA exhibitions prior to applying for membership.
See this page for more details of how to apply for membership of the RBA

History of the Royal Society of British Artists

Founded in 1823, the history of the Society is interesting.  Here's a timeline outlining their development based on the history on their website which highlights the major developments in the early years
  • 21 May 1823 - a group of painters meets at Lincoln Inn Fields to establish an alternative to the Royal Academy of Arts which is limited to 50 members
  • the ‘Society of British Artists’ is created with 27 members plus 5 honorary members.  Its manifesto states ‘This organisation was not formed to rival existing societies but that every Member was to be at liberty to assist and support any other society.’
  • the Society creates new galleries designed by Regency architect John Nash in Suffolk Street - on the corner of Pall Mall East - near to the National Gallery.  However, Nash had designed the roof on an "innovative principal" and it started to collapse shortly after it was built.  The Society then had to spend considerable funds on litigation 
At the corner of Suffolk Street and Pall Mall East is the Gallery of British Artists. The building, which was completed in 1824, is entered by a Doric portico, designed by Mr. Nash, and consists of a suite of six octagonal galleries, all on one floor, and lighted from above, designed by Mr. James Elmes. In consequence of the limited size of the rooms at Somerset House, where the Royal Academy held its exhibitions, the Society of British Artists was instituted in 1823 for the annual display of the works of living artists in the various branches of painting, sculpture, architecture, and engraving. The fund raised for the erection of the building, &c., was by donations and subscriptions, which were divided into eight classes, and admissions awarded in accordance with the amount given or subscribed.
Links to sites providing further historical background:

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