RHA 190

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The Royal Hibernian Academy is currently showcasing its 190th annual exhibition of Irish art. In what is Ireland’s oldest and largest open submission process, the RHA exhibits the work of hundreds of artists each year throughout their gallery.

With the onset of Covid-19 and the restrictions implemented in public spaces, the RHA could not open the 190th exhibition as planned during the summer. The exhibition was postponed and was set to open on October 20th. However, following a second nation-wide lockdown on October 21st, the exhibition was delayed again.

As a result of its closure and for the first time in its history, the RHA made the entire collection available online to view and purchase. In addition to this, a virtual tour of the premises was developed, where one could freely navigate the entire exhibition online from the comfort of their home. The virtual tour of the exhibition is available here, as well as the option of having an audio tour of the exhibition by a range of artists including, Diana Copperwhite, Geraldine O’Neil, Eithne Jordan, Colin Martin, Una Sealy and RHA curator Ruth Carroll.

The artist is at the centre of the entire process of the annual exhibition – The exhibition includes works by 312 artists who are either academy members, invited artists or artists who had their work selected through the open submission process (which received 4,129 entries by 2,698 artists). All 455 artworks on display in the exhibition were chosen by a panel of artists and were also installed by artist Donald Teskey.

The theme for the 190th annual exhibition was ‘Landscape’. A theme which has taken on various new meanings during the past year of social and physical restrictions and limitations. The exhibition includes paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures and architectural drawings and models, which explore traditional, unconventional, and theoretical ideas of a landscape. The works in the exhibition offer a plethora of points of view, from figurative to abstract portrayals of a physical landscapes, from newly focused viewpoints as a result of lockdown, to interpretations of a digital landscape as creatives leant on technology during a time of social and cultural stagnation.

Thankfully as the country came out of lockdown in December, the RHA reopened its doors and the 190th annual exhibition on 2nd December. To reserve your spot to visit the exhibition please click here.

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The 190th RHA Annual Exhibition is running from 20 October – 13 December 2020 at the Royal Hibernian Academy. To see more of the RHA visit their website and Instagram.

Exhibiting artists: