Royal Academy Of Arts

Art historian Professor Dawn Ades discusses Joseph Cornell’s relationship with Surrealism – one of the most influential movements of the 20th century – and explains how the collages of Max Ernst influenced him to find his own voice in the assemblage of diverse materials, found objects and images, which prompted a plethora of imaginative and imaginary narratives and associations. Ades also compares the constructions by Cornell that contain kinetic elements with other works by Surrealist artists that incorporate movement, and therefore the notion of duration. Duration is one aspect of our experience of time. Considering his sand fountains, collage-books and other unclassifiable constructions, this talk will address Cornell’s preoccupation with the workings of time as a fundamental theme in his work.

Internationally esteemed novelist Tim Winton reads from his collection of short stories ‘The Turning’. Image caption: Tim Winton, Photo: Hank Kordas.

Peter Blake is recognised as one of the founders of British Pop Art and today continues to make work that spans media including collage, sculpture, printmaking, as well as commercial art in the form of graphics and, notably, album covers. He was recently included in the Barbican’s exhibition 'Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector' and has created an artistic style that undoubtedly parallels Joseph Cornell’s own. During this event we find out why Cornell’s work has made such an impact on Blake’s own approach to art and what motivated him to create a series of direct homages to work by Joseph Cornell.

The RA hosted the inaugural RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. Here, Stephen Fry reads a story of youthful first love. Bethan Roberts’s short story, Ms. Featherstone and The Beast, was voted unanimously by the judges as the winner of the inaugural RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. The panel included Pin Drop co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross is joined by writer and Coordinating Chaplain at Nottingham Trent University, Revd Dr Richard Davey, to discuss his courtyard installation for the Summer Exhibition 2015, and the way in which his sculptures explore geometry, philosophy, physics and metaphysics.

Michael Craig-Martin’s life has been as colourful and varied as his distinctive work. He has enjoyed international success with major exhibitions around the world, high-profile commissions and numerous honours. In this event, the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow joined Craig-Martin to discuss what it takes to coordinate the RA’s Summer Exhibition and to consider the development of his career and the evolution of the art world over the last half century.

In this conversation, Eileen Cooper RA explains the role of drawing in her work and how her engagement with materials provides a direct channel to her imagination. The discussion is in conjunction with her retrospective, 'Hide and Seek', which showcases drawings through 40 years of her career. Cooper explains that, as a young artist, it was the fluidity and liberation of the line that helped build her confidence during her training. “Art is the way in which I understand the world,” she says.

Coinciding with the publication of Catherine Lampert’s ‘Frank Auerbach: Speaking and Painting’, Tim Marlow talks to the painter. In a conversation that spans the artist’s relentless work ethic, his thoughts on John Constable and his relationship with Lucian Freud, Auerbach offers a window into his studio and practice. Honest and uncompromising, he reveals himself as intensely self-critical, trying not to look back, forever running to keep up with what he calls painting’s “inner engine”.

One of Mexico’s leading architects, Tatiana Bilbao creates buildings of powerful geometry, which connect to their sites and users on both material and emotional levels. In her lecture, Bilbao discusses a number of recent housing projects and explores the ways her architecture weaves together people and place – whether in the house she designed for Mexican artist, Gabriel Orozco, or in social housing projects for the Mexican government. Image caption: Tatiana Bilbao / Photo © Adam Wiseman

Dutch practice MVRDV – of which Maas is the “M” – has an international reputation for its consistently innovative and visually striking architecture. In this talk, founder Winy Maas discusses the practice’s work, focusing on their numerous housing projects, which include the recently completed Markthal in Rotterdam. He also teaches at a number of universities across the world and is director of the Why Factory, a research institute for the future city which he founded in 2008. Maas challenges us to “escape from some of the hermeticism” that our national housing crisis is facing. His attack comes on three fronts: from architecture, to urbanism, to research. A lively and witty speaker, Maas shares entertaining personal stories as he tackles the very serious problem of the future of housing. Photo: Winy Maas © Boudewijn Bollmann

As a subject of political debate, the future of housing refuses to be sidelined. Due to spiralling prices, a significant amount of our young population look forward to a lifetime of renting, while the wealthy buy property for financial investment, rather than actual living. Leaving theory behind, this talk is firmly on the side of reality and touches on recent events involving activist demonstrations, occupations and police evictions. How might our country find new models of ownership that better reflect the changing realities of how people live today? Our panel, which includes two journalists, a policy expert, an artist and a professor, introduces this polarising topic. Photo: Houses for sale © John Sturrock / Alamy

Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis, which despite being recognised by politicians from all sides shows no sign of abating. In this event, a panel of speakers explores the costs of the current housing crisis, assessing their nature and implications – whether social, economic, psychological or environmental. Photo: Elephant and Castle, London © Guy Corbishley / Alamy

There is no single recipe for good housing – and the very definition of "good" is hotly debated. But the upsides of good housing, however we define it, are indisputable. In this event, a range of speakers examine the characteristics of places where people enjoy living and communities thrive, and discuss whether these can be applied in the future. Photo: Byker Wall, Newcastle upon Tyne © Islandstock / Alamy

As prices soar and cities become ever more prone to densification, the major political parties all agree on the need to build more homes, but where? Garden cities? Loosen the green belt? How can we plan for new housing in a way that’s able to withstand vested interests whilst remaining democratically accountable? This is an issue concerning the whole nation, with “passions involved” on both a local and personal level. With a panel including a surveyor, an academic, an urban design expert and the head of a charity, this talk tackles the issue of where to build new housing. Photo: Terrace houses © A.P.S. (UK) / Alamy

Part of our Forgotten Masters series, and in association with Docomomo, this talk addresses the life of architect Jean Tschumi. Together with academic and writer Jacques Gubler, architect Bernard Tschumi discusses the work of his father, the first president of the UIA and the founding head of Switzerland’s French-speaking School of Architecture at Lausanne. Image caption: Aula des Cèdres, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1962 by Jean Tschumi Photo © Jean Tschumi Archives

Famous for his letter to Michael Gove, the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA talks about the value of art in the school curriculum and the importance of visual communication since the beginning of civilisation. Bob and Roberta Smith RA founded the Art Party in 2013, a non-political organisation established to defend creativity and arts education. In this talk, the artist discusses the human experience of “making you mark” and “having your mark reproduced”. He believes in the importance of “things being graphic” and is willing to fight for art’s survival in the world today.

Although housing is most people’s largest monthly outgoing, our relationship to where we live is much more than financial: it shapes our identity, our sense of belonging, our mental and even physical wellbeing. But to what extent is this relationship reflected in the new houses being built in Britain today? What impact do aesthetics, materials and quality of space have on how we relate to our homes? Our panel discusses a variety of propositions – some new, others well-established – for designing homes that we instinctively feel a connection to.

Richard Diebenkorn is regarded as one of the most significant artists in post-war America. His work captures a sense of the light and place in which he worked, of New Mexico and California, and reveals his mastery as a consummate colourist. In this lecture, curator Edith Devaney explores the life and work of Richard Diebenkorn and considers why this is the first UK exhibition of such a major artist in over 20 years.

At an event celebrating International Women’s Day 2015, a panel of female Academicians and students discuss how their individual experiences have shaped their understanding of the contested role of being a female artist in the 21st century.

How does artist Anselm Kiefer use mythology, history, literature, philosophy and science in his work? What meanings do lead, straw, fire, earth, and water hold for him? Exhibition curator Kathleen Soriano uncovers the artist’s world and considers his oeuvre. Soriano explores the meanings behind Kiefer’s complex, layered yet sublime paintings, sculpture and installations in this discussion, originally held at the RA as part of our exhibition programme.