Putting on an Art Exhibition - Behind the Scenes at the Royal Ulster Academy

Anybody wondering how a prominent art society runs an open entry art exhibition would benefit from taking a look at a really informative video made by Northern Visions Television (NVTV).


Behind The Scenes at the RUA from Northern Visions NvTv on Vimeo.

The film is about the 136th annual exhibition of the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts which runs for three months at the Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5AB (6th October 2017 – 7th January 2018)

Mo McDevitt goes behind the scenes in the build up to the 136th RUA exhibition at the Ulster Museum. The exhibition features 371 works in a variety of mediums.

It opens up and follows the entire process from the Academy's perspective of what happens in creating an exhibition from start to finish in terms of:

• the artworks arriving at the second stage of the open entry. 
• (Prior to this they had 1,800 digital entries from North and South of Ireland and 23 other countries - which were sent to 10 Adjudicators on a DVD for review to get them down to under 400)
• the exercise of the three paddles by the 10 Adjudicators for accepted, rejected and not sure - and artists will be able to see what sort of distance their art gets looked at in person and for how long. (Some may be surprised - but the process used in this video is entirely normal)
• comments about the difference between the digital image and the actual artwork
• the anonymity of the presentation i.e. they are given the name of the artwork and the technique - and that's it
• the use of one wildcard for each Adjudicator - to ensure one artist is exhibited
• how submitting more than one artwork can create a more positive impression of the artist's work
• how they use 10 selectors every year - and how the panel members change every year - so the selection is now skewed by a few people (and this is the first year of an all female jury)

Interestingly, the RUA only allows its members to have TWO artworks in the exhibition as a right - and these are NOT moderated.  They had seven new associates this year.

They also struggle with the fact that they do not have a home.

Hanging the exhibition

An opening still from the video - a crop of The Artists Children by Jackie Edwards
Oil on linen, 130 × 110 x 3.05
- which I thought was very effective

The video also looks at how they hang the exhibition - and I have to say both artwork and the exhibition looks absolutely splendid.  The co-ordination of colours and management of contrasts are excellent.

"It's not about putting the big names up front and the lesser names behind the door"

The video also looks at

• the adjudication of the medals for work
• artwork in the exhibition
• the wider educational events associated with the exhibition.

The RUA Exhibition webpage

What I like about the RUA Exhibition webpage is the manually operated slideshow of ALL the works in the exhibition - with full details of title, medium, size and artist.

I noticed people whose work I know such as:

• Gareth Reid born in Belfast / now lives in Glasgow - who this year won Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year (see my blog post Gareth Reid is Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2017 and prior to that won the BP Travel Award in 2008 - see my post BP Travel Award: Gareth Reid and the Finnish winter bathers)
• Comhghall Casey from Omagh, Co Tyrone - whose work I've seen in the BP Portrait Award on a number of occasions (2002, 2013, 2015 - see BP Portrait 2015 - Artists with their paintings) and who was also selected for Hennessy Portrait Prize 2014 - shortlisted artists and winner and again in 2017
• Ian Cumberland from County Down - who was selected for the BP Portrait Award in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and was shortlisted and won third prize in 2011.
  

You can see the artwork which won the prizes - and the artist who made it

Thanks to Jane Gardiner who told me about the film on the Royal Ulster Academy's Facebook Page.