How to become an Associate Member of the Royal Watercolour Society

Would you like to become an Associate Member of the Royal Watercolour Society? You have until 11.59pm on Friday 2nd June to submit an application.

Membership of the Royal Watercolour Society

Royal Watercolour Society artists are elected on merit by the current Membership - a tradition dating back to the Society's foundation over 200 years ago. Any professional artist working in water-based media may apply. Our Members' work is extremely varied, both in style and subject matter, and includes paintings in gouache, acrylic, pen and ink and watercolour mixed media on paper.

The RWS:

• has a royal charter
• is based at Bankside Gallery in London - which it shares with the RE
• is currently in the soft opening phase of the new RWS Gallery at Whitcomb Street which is a new (old) gallery space near Trafalgar Square.

You need to apply to become an Associate Member first. 

When you become a full member the benefits are:  

• four major group exhibitions at Bankside Gallery each year, 
• other opportunities to exhibit in external exhibitions (recent collaborations have been with the Royal Albert Hall, the RHS and the Globe). 
• Your work will be publicised through the Society's website
• There are opportunities to run courses, have your work used for publicity, on merchandise, and to become involved in Society events.

For this you will be charged a not inconsiderable annual fee. I applaud the RWS for being transparent and upfront about this. It's the first time I've ever seen any of the Societies do this and hopefully this will become the new norm. 

My personal view is that ALL chances to apply for membership by ALL art societies should always be fully aware of the full costs and obligations as well as any benefits. Plus for the sake of transparency and complete compliance with Advertising Regulations it's always best to be up front about these things!

Application Process and Guidelines

You have to be a professional watercolour artist to apply

How does the RWS define a 'professional' artist?
All artists who submit their work for Election should earn their income (partly or wholly) from the sale of their work. They should exhibit regularly and have a clear and coherant practice.

The application process runs as follows:

• You need to apply online 
• a shortlist of applicants will be pre-selected and invited to deliver three framed, glazed paintings and a portfolio of supporting work to be judged by RWS Members. 
• If elected, you will become an Associate Member of the RWS. 
• Full Membership is achieved by Election at an RWS Annual General Meeting, if there is a vacancy.

These are the links to:

• the Election Page https://www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/election/
• the Application Guidelines
• Election FAQs
• the Application Form

Deadline: 11.59pm Friday 2nd of June

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

You can only be a member of ONE of:

• either the Royal Watercolour Society
• or the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

but NOT BOTH! 

I strongly recommend that before making an application you make sure you have been to Exhibitions by both art societies as they are very different - and also exhibit in different places. You will know when you've seen the exhibitions which one suits you and your artwork best.

Also this is not a vanity exercise and people tend to remember names, so do not waste people's time if you're just starting out and do not as yet have 

• an established practice as an exhibiting semi-professional or professional artist 
• the significant income generated from the sales of your artwork. 

The RWS has an open competition https://www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/competition  and separate exhibition where you can exhibit work as a non-member and if you want to get noticed this is the best place to start - and then work towards submitting an application to become an Associate.

If you are an International Artist, please be aware that if you become a member you are expected to exhibit in exhibitions and if you fail to exhibit your membership can be revoked. 

Again - this is not a Vanity Exercise or a way to collect initials after your name - you are expected to become an active participant in exhibitions.

So maybe have a long hard think about the costs of transporting artwork to and from up to four exhibitions a year before you apply. I'd recommend having a think about transporting the artwork only and having it framed in the UK and then delivered to the Gallery. 

History of The Royal Watercolour Society

• In 1804, the Society of Painters in Water-Colours was created.
• In 1881, it changed its name to become the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours 
• In 1905 it became Royal Watercolour Society after it was granted a royal charter. 

It's now the oldest watercolour society in the world. The focus of this Society was to promote the use of watercolour - but also to exhibit only the work of its own members - which is a tradition which continues to this day. 

In the Victoria age, the RWS was referred to as the Old Water-Colour Society (OWCS) so as to distinguish it from the newer society which eventually became the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (RI). 

See my post about The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours to see the history of the two societies and why they are separate.

Links

• Royal Watercolour Society
• The two Galleries at Bankside and Whitcomb Street