Royal West Of England Academy Open Exhibition

The Royal West of England Academy is located in perhaps one of the most stunning and impressive buildings in the city. However behind its imposing façade visitors will find an inspiring gallery which works hard to uphold the principles of its founders.

We spoke to Alison Bevan, The RWA’s director about this year’s Open Exhibition

The Open Exhibition has been an integral part of the RWA exhibition programme for 162 years. Why do you think it is still proving so popular?

While artistic tastes and modes of expression have changed radically in 162 years, the drive to create and exhibit artworks is just as strong as it was when we held our first Open show.  What began as a reasonably modest exhibition of work by Bristol-based artists has grown immeasurably, and the appeal for artists now is to be a part of such a respected show, where they know that their work will be on show amongst some of the leading British artists practicing today – including, this year, our newest Honorary Academician, Sir Peter Blake.  For the public, it provides a fascinating snapshot of the huge range of art being produced today, from outstandingly accomplished realist works to the wildest flights of creative imagination.  It also offers a great chance to start or build an art collection, with over 500 artworks for sale, many costing little more than a mass-produced print, and most able to be purchased on ten months interest free credit (subject to status).

How many submissions were there this year?

Around 2500 pieces were submitted for consideration this year, so competition for places is fierce!

 What are the criteria for inclusion in the Open Exhibition?

The chief criteria is that the piece submitted must be an original artwork, produced within the last 3 years and never having been exhibited before at the RWA.  Artists’ prints are allowed, but not giclée (i.e. machine-made) reproductions.  Beyond that, it is all down to catching the eye of the selection panel: each entry is vetted, with an initial selection carried out online, and then those works getting through that stage are looked at one-by-one by the panel, who vote to decide whether it is exhibited or not.  It’s not just a matter of being a great artwork: to make the grade it has to ‘sing’ to enough of the panel to get voted in, at the end of the day all the works have to sit together to create one visually stunning group show.

What would your advice be to someone looking to buy a piece of art at the exhibition, should they be looking for investment pieces or simply that which they like?

The only – ONLY – reason anyone should buy a piece of art is because they think they’d enjoy living with it.  Sometimes, art proves to be a shrewd investment in financial terms, but if you buy only what you like, it will always be a brilliant investment in the joy it will bring you for years to come. 

One of the remits of the RWA is to provide an inclusive programme of exhibitions, events and education. Do you believe that the RWA is successful fulfilling this role?

We are firmly committed to fulfilling our role as a regional beacon of excellence for the visual arts, and we believe that the high quality, varied exhibitions programme we have presented over the past year, and the programme we have planned for the coming years, is delivering this.  This year alone, visitors have been able to see works by Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon; Turner and Constable. Having come to see such big names, they have reported back to us how much they have enjoyed encountering the work of artists they were unfamiliar with .  All of our exhibitions are accompanied by workshops, talks, events and gallery tours to engage with visitors of all ages, abilities and backgrounds in different ways, so I would say that we have been successful, but nevertheless we are always looking for more we can do – so watch this space!

And finally if you could curate an exhibition by a living artist  who would they be?

Although he is so universally loved, it is an obvious answer, the living artist I’d most like to curate a show of and with is Grayson Perry, who is an astonishing creative talent I’ve admired for more than 20 years.  There are many other living artists I’d love to work with, and many I feel overwhelmingly privileged to have already done so, but Perry’s currently top of most art-lovers’ lists I think.  The great thing about my job is that I can hopefully get to be involved in exhibitions of all my artistic heroes before I’m done.