Royal Academy of the Arts

RA | What’s On | News & Blog | Art & Artists | About Visit | Shop

Royal Academy of Arts

They are an Academy

They have a lot in common with museums and other galleries, but as an academy they have a wider position to play – to encourage not just the appreciation and understanding of art, but also its practise.

Led by artists

Like the founders of the Academy, they are still led by many of the greatest artists and architects of the day. Every Royal Academic must be an artist who is elected by his or her colleagues to recognise his or her work. Many different perspectives are represented by their academicians, and all share a deep commitment to art and a strong belief in the contribution artists make to the world.

Independent Charity Organization

They don’t receive government tax funding, unlike most of their peers, and so they rely on the sponsorship of visitors, supporters, sponsors, and the loyal Friends of the Royal Academy to continue their work. Their academics embody many different backgrounds, and they all share a profound dedication to art and a firm belief in the contribution that artists make to the world.

What they do


They host exhibitions and events all year round, from ancient sculpture to modern masterpieces, the original home of the blockbuster exhibition. Every year they have an open-submission art exhibition for the people. Their programme of events opens up the worlds of their exhibitions and helps to introduce new audiences to their art and artists.

They have a school of fine contemporary art.

They’re home to Britain’s longest established art school, the RA Schools. Their three-year postgraduate course is one of the most competitive in the country and offers free education to all who study there.

They are proud custodians of art treasures.


When elected, all Royal Academicians donate one of their works of art to the Academy Collection, creating a treasure trove of British art. You can browse their Collection online or visit the galleries to see some of it on display.

More on Design Education

  • Rhode Island School of Design – Prestigious Design Education

    Rhode Island School of Design – Prestigious Design Education

    Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877 and now offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in 19 different fields. It is affiliated with Brown University, with which it shares a College Hill campus.Read More →

  • École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs

    École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs

    The École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs was instrumental in the emergence of the Art Deco design movement and the development of modern design trends in the 1920s. Animation, photography, scenography, industrial design, communication design, interactive design, film, interior design, fashion, textile, and engraving are among the subjects taught at the School.Read More →

  • Henry Cole (1808 – 1882) British design education leader

    Henry Cole (1808 – 1882) British design education leader

    Henry Cole was a significant force in 19th-century British design education, emphasising its importance to industry. He was also instrumental in the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the founding of the Journal of Design.Read More →

  • Victor Papanek (1923 – 1998) socially responsible Design Prophet

    Victor Papanek (1923 – 1998) socially responsible Design Prophet

    Victor Papanek was a socially responsible designer. Design for the Real World, his book, was released in 20 different languages. TELL ME MORERead More →

  • Black Mountain College (1933 – 1957) the experimental spirit

    Black Mountain College (1933 – 1957) the experimental spirit

    Black Mountain College was founded by John Andrew Rice and a group of dissident, radical academics in North Carolina’s mountains in 1933. It symbolised academic freedom and the experimental spirit of American culture.Read More →

  • Royal Academy of the Arts

    Royal Academy of the Arts

    RA | What’s On | News & Blog | Art & Artists | About Visit | Shop They are anRead More →

  • William Merritt Chase (1849 – 1916) American Artist and Teacher

    William Merritt Chase (1849 – 1916) American Artist and Teacher

    He settled in New York in 1878; subsequently, he taught at Art Students’ League, New York, in 1896. He established the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (sometimes referred to as Chase School of Art). Read More →

  • Albert Reimann (1874 – 1971) German metalworker and educator

    Albert Reimann (1874 – 1971) German metalworker and educator

    Albert and his wife Klara Reimann founded the Schülerwerkstatten für Kleinplastik (School for Small Sculpture) in Berlin in 1902. Reimann was a gifted craftsman who created prototypes to produce bronze, copper, silver, gold, and pottery. Read More →

  • Arthur J. Pulos (1917- 1993) American industrial designer and educator

    Arthur J. Pulos (1917- 1993) American industrial designer and educator

    Arthur Pulos (1917 – 1993) was a well-known design teacher, promoter, and industrial designer. Arthur Pulos was renowned for his writings, lectures in developed and developing nations, and involvement with important organizations like the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID).Read More →

  • École Boulle – College of fine arts and crafts, Paris

    École Boulle – College of fine arts and crafts, Paris

    The École Boulle was created in 1886 and is named after the cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, who during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), the Sun King, was commonly considered to be the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry or inlay. The art of André-Charles Boulle is regarded today as “Boulle Work”. Read More →

  • National School of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    National School of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    The Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is a former colonial school that is now part of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.Read More →

  • École Estienne (Paris) – 120 years of design training

    École Estienne (Paris) – 120 years of design training

    In honour of the Estienne family, the school was named after a famous family of printers from the 16th century, including Henri Estienne (elder), Robert Estienne and Charles Estienne. Its mission was to address the poor printing and book-making qualifications and standards, covering theoretical and practical aspects.Read More →

  • Misha Black (1910 – 1977) British industrial and exhibition designer

    Misha Black (1910 – 1977) British industrial and exhibition designer

    He was mostly self-taught despite a short period of study at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and in Paris, beginning his professional career in graphic art and design of exhibition stands.Read More →

  • Ulm, Hochschule für Gestaltung post WW2 Design Academy

    Ulm, Hochschule für Gestaltung post WW2 Design Academy

    After WWII, Ulm, Hochschule für Gestaltung, a forward-thinking West German institution, was closely associated with a more scientific, logical, and productive design approach. It shifted away from the traditional reliance on existing notions of the innovative individual designer’s dominance and towards a problem-solving approach to design that included the use of multidisciplinary expertise. Read More…

  • Royal Danish Academy of  Fine Arts 250 years of education in the arts

    Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 250 years of education in the arts

    For more than 250 years, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Danish: Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) has provided educationRead More →

  • Chicago Institute of Design landmark of American design education

    Chicago Institute of Design landmark of American design education

    In Chicago, the Institute of Design was established by László Moholy-Nagy in 1939, following several short-lived precedents beginning with the New Bauhaus in Chicago, established in 1937 under the direction of Moholy-Nagy, with Walter Gropius, a former member of the Bauhaus, as a consultant.Read More →

  • ‘The Central’ – Central School of Art and Design

    ‘The Central’ – Central School of Art and Design

    Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design The London County Council set up this vital art school in 1896Read More →

You may be interested in

Get the Look: A Grown Up, Frozen-Inspired Scandi Royal Bedroom – Encyclopedia of Design

Last month, Disney’s Frozen made its Broadway debut. While I can’t comment on the success of the transference from screen to stage, I can skate down memory lane to when Frozen first premiered in theaters and the cheesy, cartoony kids bedroom decorations overwhelmed the internet.

One Rise East designs alternatives to Royal Mint’s “predictable” A to Z of Britain coins – Encyclopedia of Design

Design agency One Rise East has created a set of 26 coins to represent an A to Z of modern-day Britain, as an alternative to the collection released by the Royal Mint.

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.