In advance of the 2013 sale I thought it would be helpful if I updated the FAQs. So here they are.
How do I spot the cards by the top artists?
The million dollar question. My first answer to that would be another
question – why would you want to? If it is because you love the artist
anyway and RCA secret is the only way that you can pick up their work at
an affordable price then trust me you have
a good chance of spotting your favourite artist’s work.
If it is because you are looking to make money out of the sale then,
sorry you are on your own. And in any event it is unclear how much the
cards from the sale are worth in any event.
What time should I start queuing?
Any time after me ;) Seriously though I know people who have started to
queue 2 hours after the sale doors opened and have still got the cards
they want, although that was a few years ago now and the sale gets more
popular every year. It really depends on
how committed you are. The queue starts to swell quickly from around
6.30am until the doors open. Don't expect to see much left if you turn
up much after around 9am.
It is not known how the change in venue of the sale in
2013 will affect the length of the queue.
What should I buy?
It sounds clichéd but seriously you should buy what you like. Isn’t that
more important than buying something that you think may be by a famous
artist? I guarantee most of the time your punts at a famous artist will
usually be wrong.
How does the raffle work?
Once registered for the sale you can buy up to 10 raffle tickets at £1
each. These are on sale up until the Friday afternoon of the sale. On
each raffle ticket you write your buyers number and phone number. The
college draw 50 lucky winners and telephone
each of the winners on friday evening, generally between 6pm and 7pm to
let them know they have won. If you have won you are allowed to enter
the sale before the queuers. Once
you are inside the building you are assigned a
pre-drawn position within the top 50 and assembled into order. You can then make
your purchases having stolen a march on all those hardy queuers. Good
luck to you.
What’s the best way to frame RCA secret cards?
I personally think that they should be framed so that the card can be
viewed both front and back. A professional framer should be able to
guide you on this, basically you can cut out a bit of the mount at the
back to show the rear of the card and that all important
signature. This can make the framed piece heavy if two pieces of glass
are used, so consider using a piece of Perspex on the back, which is
lighter.
Clearly the best way of protecting your cards is to make sure that the
cards are conservation framed with UV glass. To make a real difference
try using non-reflective glass. Click
here
for details of our favourite framer.
How does the buying process work?
You can view the cards for a week before the sale day both in person at the college and online.
Don’t forget to register with the college in advance (there is no
registration on the day of the sale) and then join the queue on the day
of the sale. Make sure you have made a detailed list of the card numbers
that you wish to purchase. Make this list as long
as possible as many of your first choices are bound to be gone by the
time that you get to the front of the queue.
When the sale was done in Kensington then you were eventually taken down to a room below the exhibition hall. There
was a bank of tills in the room and also a computer screen which
display
ed the numbers and tiny images of the cards. The sold cards
were
indicated on the screen.
It is assumed that the 2013 sale will follow a similar process but we won't know for sure until the day of the sale.
When you get to the front of the queue read out the card numbers to the
cashier. Don’t worry if you haven’t noted whether a particular card is
still available – they will tell you if it is not.
Once you have selected your four cards then pay for them and take your
collection slip to the gallery. There a runner will get the cards for
you, confirm with you that they have the correct ones, and hand them to
you. You can then check the back for the all
important name.
How do the college keep it all a secret?
The college take this seriously. Whilst people have tried to suggest
that the college must pass on information to others there is no
foundation to this at all. The college are extremely fair in the way
they deal with the sale. Only a very small number of people
are aware of the identity of the artists.
How much are the cards worth?
The short answer is whatever people are prepared to pay for them. It is
true that in recent times many of the cards in the sale have fetched
large sums on the secondary market. A Peter Doig card went for £42,000
at auction and a Damien Hirst for £15,600. Other
Hirst cards have fetched much more modest sums on the secondary
market.
Save for the very top artists most of the cards are not worth that much
money. Ebay sales of cards from previous sales show most selling for
around their original cost.
This is really not about the money for most people – it is getting some affordable original art on people’s walls.
Who exhibits at RCA secret?
Of course there are the big names.Tracey Emin in particular has
contributed to the sale year on year. Many other big names have
contributed in the past – Gerhard Richter, Damien Hirst, John
Baldessari, David Hockney, Paula Rego, Peter Doig, Frank Auerbach,
Anish Kapoor, Glenn Brown etc etc.
For me RCA secret is not just about these big name contributors though.
There are literally hundreds of well known, well established artists who
regularly support the exhibition. The beauty of the show is buying
something by one of these artists, taking it
home, doing a search for that artist on google and then finding out
about them and taking an interest in their career after that. RCA secret
has introduced me to hundreds of artists that I wouldn’t ordinarily
have come across. If you allow it to it will open
up your eyes to a whole new realm of contemporary British art.
As for the students – well remember that the RCA is an exclusively
post-graduate place of study. So these students have already spent a
considerable amount of time immersed in the art world. Some of my
favourite RCA secret cards are by students.
What do the college do with unsold cards?
There aren’t many. The college say that they are returned to the artist
sometimes. In 2006 some of the 2005 cards made reappearances.
Where can I find out more about the artists?
Often you will get home, google the artist’s name and not find anything.
Especially if they have a common name. Try emailing the college. They
may hold the artists CV or a short biography that they will give to you.
How do I find out more about the show?
The RCA secret blog is a great start. Check out the
RCA Secret facebook
group as well.
This blog and the college also have RCA Secret twitter feeds.
