COLLECT A PIECE OF ART HISTORY FOR JUST £45 AT RCA SECRET 2010
Exhibition open: 12 & 14-19 November, 11am-6pm daily, free admission.
Sale day: Saturday 20 November, 8am-6pm.
Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU
RCA Secret is an annual contemporary art exhibition and sale consisting of around 2,500 original postcard-sized artworks, made and donated by professional artists, designers and illustrators, plus up-and-coming students from the Royal College of Art. The cards are all sold to the public in a huge sale, with every postcard costing just £45, regardless of whether it has been made by a famous name or a young art student.
What’s the Secret? Each postcard is signed on the back, so collectors don’t know the identity of the artist until they have made their purchase. Although it can help to know the difference between a drawing by Tracey Emin and a watercolour by David Hockney, a lot of it is down to pure luck and many collectors don’t realise whose work they have chosen until they hand over their cash on the sale day.
The RCA is grateful to receive enormous support from hundreds of leading international artists and designers who contribute to the event each year. Last year’s event included original, hand-made postcards by Gerhard Richter, Bill Viola, Julian Opie, Yoko Ono, Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry, David Bailey, fashion designers Paul Smith and Manolo Blahnik, and animator Nick Park to name just a few. Artists may choose to paint, draw, sketch or even produce a 3-d sculpture as long as it’s postcard-sized.
To date this year’s exhibition has received work from among others artists Olafur Eliasson, Sir Anthony Caro, John Baldessari, Yoko Ono, Andrzej Jackowski, Anthony Frost and Mary Fedden, fashion designers Mary Quant and Hardy Blechman, designers Sir Kenneth Adam and Ross Lovegrove and graphic designer Milton Glaser.
Potential collectors will be able to view all the postcards in person at the RCA in London or on-line at www.rca.ac.uk/secret from 12 November. All postcards go up for sale for one day only on Saturday 20 November at the RCA. Postcards can only be bought on a first come, first served basis, with no sealed bids or reservations in advance. There will also be a raffle for collectors to win a position in the first fifty places in the queue.
As well as being a fundraiser for the Fine Art students at the College, RCA Secret has a loyal following of supporters including regular collectors and art-lovers some of whom have been visiting the show since it began in 1994. It is not only one of the most popular events at the RCA, but has now become an established date in the British art calendar.
As in previous years all monies raised goes to the Royal College of Art Fine Art Student Award Fund. To date, sales of postcards have raised over
£1 million, helping hundreds of emerging artists at a formative stage in their careers.
RCA Secret 2010 is sponsored by Stewarts Law LLP.
Location: Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU
Press view & photo-call: 11 November, 10am – 12 noon.
Viewing Days: 12 & 14 – 19 November, 11am – 6pm daily (late night opening until 9pm on 18 November)
Sale Day: 20 November, from 8am – 6pm.
Admission: FREE
Public information: 020 7590 4186 or www.rca.ac.uk/secret
Tube: South Kensington/High Street Kensington
Buses: 9,10, 52, 452
The Royal College of Art is the world’s most influential postgraduate university of art and design, specialising in teaching and research and offering the degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD across the disciplines of fine art, applied art, design, communications and humanities. There are over 900 masters and doctoral students and more than a hundred professionals interacting with them – including scholars, leading art and design practitioners, along with specialists, advisors and distinguished visitors.
Website: www.rca.ac.uk