The RCA Secret is an annual event, which this year celebrates its eighteenth birthday as a unique exhibition and sale of original postcard-sized art, made by professional artists, designers and illustrators, plus current postgraduate students at the Royal College of Art. It is a fund raising event with proceeds going to the RCA’s Art Student Award Fund. Last year’s postcards and artists are available to view on the RCA website until Friday 11th November 2011. This will give you an idea of what to expect for this years offerings.This year is rumoured to includes Tracey Emin, Yoko Ono, Anish Kapoor and Mike Leigh. A distinct political edge to the RCA Secret postcard exhibition is also predicted. Here’s how it works!
THE SECRET – The postcards are displayed anonymously and are signed on the reverse, so that the artist remains a secret until after the cards are purchased and their signature is revealed. This sale consisting of around 2,500 original postcard-sized artworks, made and donated by professional artists, designers and illustrators, plus up-and-coming students and alumni 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.
THE ARTISTS Over 1,000 artists donated 2,800 works to RCA Secret 2010, including Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Yoko Ono, Jake Chapman, Olafur Eliasson, Yinka Shonibare, Sir Peter Blake, John Baldessari, fashion designers Manolo Blahnik, Mary Quant and Sir Paul Smith, animator Nick Park, photographer David Bailey, film maker Mike Leigh and designers Ron Arad and James Dyson, as well as up-and-coming students and graduates from the Royal College of Art.
THE EXHIBITION – Exhibition open at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU from Friday 18 November until Friday 25 November 2011, 11am-6pm, (Thursday until 9pm). Free Admission. The postcards will also be available for viewing on this website from Friday 18 November.
THE SALE – The cards will be sold to the public in a huge one-day sale on Saturday 26 November 2011, 8am-6pm, with each postcard costing just £45. A maximum of four cards may be purchased per person. Postcards will only be available to purchase in person at the Sale. It is recommended that you prepare a list of cards in advance, as the exhibition will not be open for viewing on the morning of the Sale. You must have an RCA Secret Collector’s Number to purchase a card at RCA Secret 2011. Click here to get one.
THE RAFFLE – First-Fifty Raffle tickets for a chance to win a place at the front of the Sale queue will be on sale at the Exhibition, until an hour before the close of the exhibition on each open day.
How to get there Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU Tube: South Kensington/High Street Kensington Buses: 9, 10, 52, 452
Last year more than £90,000 raised for fine arts student bursaries. Proceeds to the RCA Fine Art Student Award Fund
Photo : Grayson Perry 2010 Secret Postcard