LONDON.- The Royal Academy is presenting the 256th Summer Exhibition, a unique celebration of contemporary art and architecture, providing a vital platform and support for the artistic community. British sculptor Ann Christopher RA has co-ordinated this year’s Summer Exhibition and with the Summer Exhibition Committee, explores the idea of making space. For the Summer Exhibition 2024, Ann Christopher RA said, “I plan to explore the idea of making space, whether giving space or taking space. This can be interpreted in various ways: to make space can mean openness – making space for something or someone, also making space between things. It is my belief that the spaces in between are as important as whatever those spaces separate.”

Works by invited artists this year include Ackroyd & Harvey, Vivien Blackett, Diana Copperwhite, Andrew Pierre Hart, Permindar Kaur, Radhika Khimji, Kathy Prendergast, Rachel Whiteread and Charmaine Watkiss. In addition to the large number of public submissions, Royal Academicians and Honorary Academicians are showing works, including Ron Arad, Frank Bowling, Michael Craig-Martin, Anselm Kiefer, Conrad Shawcross, Clare Woods and Rose Wylie. There are also memorials to the Royal Academicians Michael Hopkins, Sonia Lawson, Mick Moon and Joe Tilson.

In the courtyard is a monumental textile sculpture by British artist Nicola Turner, which is made of found organic matter, including horsehair and wool. The work explores the intersection between life and death and will interact closely with the statue of the RA’s founding President, Sir Joshua Reynolds.

The Architecture rooms are curated by Assemble RA, who said, “Spaces for making form a critical part of our creative economy and yet these spaces are increasingly pushed out of cities. Assemble invited contributions that reflect on spaces for making: workspaces, studio spaces, manufacturing spaces, industrial spaces, assembly spaces. We want to celebrate the messiness and exploration these places of production entail, while embracing failure and making room for unconventional and enterprising ways we find to continue making together. We welcomed submissions that focus and reflect on making as process, unfinished works, material samples, industrial prototypes, working models, workspace artefacts and agricultural elements. Making space is a complex, multifaceted and collaborative process and we strongly encouraged collectives and individuals or organisations outside of the architecture and art world to contribute.” Architects include Elsie Owusu and Nigel Coates exhibiting for the first time as Royal Academicians, as well as some specially invited creative practices such as Structure Workshop and the art collective, Cooking Sections.