Yinka Shonibare will co-ordinate the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition this year.
The artist, famous for his Nelson’s Ship In A Bottle installation which stood on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth, will explore the theme of Reclaiming Magic and celebrate the “sheer joy of making” art.
The Summer Exhibition is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show.
It has taken place every year without interruption since 1769, even during the First and Second World Wars.
Last year, because of the pandemic, it was delayed to the autumn for the first time in its history.
Shonibare said: “Reclaiming Magic is an exhibition which seeks a return to the visceral aspects of art-making.
“It will transcend the Western canon which formed the foundations of the Royal Academy and Western art history’s points of reference.
“The exhibition will be a celebration of the transformative powers of the magical in art, a return to the ritualistic and the sheer joy of making.”
Around 1,200 works will be selected for display from approximately 15,000 submissions, sent in by artists and architects from around the world.
The majority of works will be for sale, with funds raised going to support the exhibiting artists, the postgraduate students studying in the RA Schools and the not-for-profit work of the Royal Academy.
Turner Prize-nominated siblings Jane and Louise Wilson co-ordinated last year’s show.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here