Grayson Perry RA - NEW ROYAL ACADEMICIAN ELECTED

NEW ROYAL ACADEMICIAN ELECTED
The Royal Academy of Arts is pleased to announce that Grayson Perry was elected a Royal
Academician in the category of Printmaking at a recent General Assembly.

Grayson Perry RA

Born in Chelmsford in 1960, Grayson Perry received his BA in Fine Art from Portsmouth Polytechnic
in 1982. He works in a variety of media such as photography, embroidery and ceramics. He also
produces etchings and engravings. He regularly illustrates serious themes and dark subject matter,
often depicting images from his personal family life to his transvestite alter-ego, Claire. 
 
Perry has had many solo exhibitions in a number of venues across the world including Mudam,
Luxembourg, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, Garth Clark Gallery,
New York, Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London, Clara Scremini Gallery, Paris, Victoria Miro Gallery,
London and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
 
Perry won the Turner Prize in 2003 for his use of traditional ceramics to express personal and social
issues in “Boring Cool People” (1999), “Village of Penians” (2001) and “Golden Ghosts” (2001).
Grayson Perry has also curated two exhibitions - Unpopular Culture, de la Warr Pavilion (then
touring) (2008) and The Charms of Lincolnshire, The Collection, Lincoln (2006). 
 

• Grayson Perry is this year’s special guest speaker at the fifth Royal Academy Schools Annual Dinner
and Auction. This exclusive black tie fundraising event will take place on 22 March and will be
presided over by auctioneer Lord Poltimore (Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe). The function will
take place at the newly refurbished St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and will be the first to be held there
since 1935. This year’s auction will feature works donated by high profile Royal Academicians,
including Maurice Cockrill, Tracey Emin, Gary Hume and Chris Orr.
 
• The Royal Academy of Arts is governed by 80 Royal Academicians who are all practising painters,
sculptors, engravers, printmakers, draughtsmen and architects. On reaching the age of 75 they
become Senior Academicians and so form vacancies for Membership. Elections are held annually
and new Members are voted in by existing RAs.