Doing Summer Exhibition

Summer is here and with it comes a slew of buzzy new shows, among them the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition, the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show which has taken place every year since 1769.

Curated by British sculptor Alison Wilding, this year’s exhibition explores the theme of climate. As with previous editions, works by rising stars nestle happily alongside those by established names including Gavin Turk, Rana Begum and Tracey Emin. Many of these are for sale, offering visitors the chance to purchase original artwork by some of the most famous artists working today.

Highlights include the two rooms of prints selected by Grayson Perry, a custom-designed structure made from elephant dung bricks and Marina Tabassum’s Khudi Bari (Tiny House), an elevated shelter for flood refugees made from reclaimed materials. You’ll also encounter works showing wildfires, fallen trees and floods. Not to be missed are the jewel encrusted decaying lemon, Anselm Kiefer’s disaster watercolour Fugit Amor and Perry’s Covid Bell.

Outside in the Royal Academy’s Annenberg Courtyard is a large-scale, immersive installation by the Spanish artist and 2020 Royal Academy Architecture Prize winner, Cristina Iglesias. Designed especially for the courtyard, Humid Labyrinth Room (with Spontaneous Landscape) challenges our perceptions of what is real and what is imagined to dazzling effect.

This is a jam-packed exhibition — there are over 1400 works on display — so take your time and go back if you need. Afterwards, head to nearby Bond Street to see the temporary flag installation by British artist Mali Morris, part of Art in Mayfair, an annual arts festival running alongside the Summer Exhibition which sees the area transformed into a live exhibition through installations, exhibitions and pop-up events.