Saturday, August 28, 2010

Blog redesign and twitter

So the blog has had a bit of a refresh, hope you like it?

Also you can now follow us on twitter by clicking here.  Hopefully closer to the sale there should be plenty of tweets as the excitement mounts.

Finally the rca secret website is now up and running where you can register as a purchaser if you haven't registered before.  Note that the exhibition is closed on Saturday 13 November.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

College confirm dates and price increase

The college have now confirmed the dates of the 2010 exhibition (remember you heard it here first) as 12-19 November 2010 with the sale on the 20 November 2010.

There has also been a price increase of £5 on the cost of cards.  Each card is now £45.  I still think that represents pretty good value for money.

Full text here and below

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, 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.
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
Location: Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU
Press View & photo-call: 11 November, 10am – 12 noon.
Viewing Days:12 - 19 November, 11am - 6pm daily (late night opening until 8pm on 18 November)
Sale Day: 20 November, from 8am – 6pm.
Free admission.