Recorded during our exhibition Lucien Freud: The Self-portraits, Tracey Emin CBE RA and David Dawson(Lucien Freud's assistant and model) discuss their memories of the artist, as well as Emin and Freud’s shared ability to innovate, provoke and soul-search.

Anthropologist and director of the documentary 'Inside Australia', Hugh Brody discusses how geology, anthropology and humankind’s connection with the land are represented in Gormley’s work.

Theoretical astrophysicist, Priya Natarajan, joins Semiconductor, the artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, to discuss how artists contribute to our understanding of the world around and the relationship between physics, cosmology and art. Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.

Antony Gormley discusses his career spanning over 40 years and explores how his series of installations within the RA’s Main Galleries encouraged visitors to slow down and become aware of their own bodies and environment. Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.

Our panel, chaired by art critic, writer & curator, Sacha Craddock, and including Alistair Hudson, Director of the Whitworth and Mariam Zulfiqar, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at UP Projects, questions where sculpture is best exhibited and what impact sculptures have on the spaces they are presented in. Do sculptures act as catalysts for social change and can people connect better with a place when it contains a work of art? Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.

Artist and singer/songwriter Michael Stipe talks about his life-long passion for photography and its potential to produce a defining image of our times.

World renowned designer Sir Paul Smith discusses his humble beginnings, what inspires him, and the lessons he's learnt throughout his career.

As part of our 'When Science Meers Art' series Mathematician Professor Marcus du Sautoy OBE FRS, artist Conrad Shawcross RA and BBC presenter Samira Ahmed discuss how experimentation, curiosity and creative thinking are central to both science and sculpture. Download slides from this lecture: https://roy.ac/gh4d4

Catch up with this panel discussion featuring political satirist Steve Bell, artist Bedwyr Williams and artist duo John Wood and Paul Harrison as they explore humour and satire in art, discussing how it's impacted today’s contemporary art world.

Mali Morris discusses her latest exhibition and display at the RA, as well as her career and practice, with author and poet Martha Kapos. Acclaimed artist Mali Morris RA focuses on the expressive possibilities of abstract painting. Her work draws on many sources but constantly explores how colour can structure light and space.

Catch up on this conversation between Peter Blake and the Director of London Original Print Fair, Helen Rosslyn. They discuss Blake’s new project 'Ways of Making', which investigates the diversity and range of processes at the disposal of an artist. Recognised as one of the founders of British Pop Art, painter and printmaker Sir Peter Blake is renowned for his connection with the music industry, having created iconic album covers for the Beatles, Paul Weller, The Who, and Oasis.

Catch up on this conversation with the artist behind this year’s Summer Exhibition courtyard installation, Thomas Houseago, and the show's curator Edith Devaney. Ranging from monumental to smaller-scale works, Houseago’s sculptures simultaneously convey states of power and vulnerability. He uses mediums traditionally associated with classical and modernist sculpture – including carved wood, clay, plaster and bronze – as well as less traditional materials like rebar (reinforcing steel bars) and hemp.

Award-winning director Ken Loach discusses the politics and processes behind his films, as well as the effects of Brexit on the british film industry with writer and critic, Francine Stock.

Actor, writer, comedian and presenter, Michael Palin explores the life and work of under-appreciated artists with journalist and broadcaster, Martha Kearney.

Author and illustrator Lauren Child sat down with her collaborator, designer David Mackintosh, to discuss the process of making best-selling children’s books – from font snobbery to wrestling over front covers and the merits of staring into space.

World-famous dancer, choreographer and composer, Hofesh Shechter, discusses his life and career – and why indifference is the worst possible response to his work.

Poetic and unflinching, Clio Barnard’s films explore the beauty and terror in rural English landscapes. Honing in on the lives and hardships of working-class Englanders, her films offer an unblinking account of life on the margins. In this interview with Matthew Sweet, she discusses her recent film, Dark River (2017), alongside The Selfish Giant (2013), which developed from her experimental documentary, The Arbor (2010), based on Bradford playwright, Andrea Dunbar.

Between them, Cressida Cowell and Chris Riddell have created some of the most iconic characters in children’s literature. In this conversation from our 2019 Festival of Ideas, the talented storytellers discuss how images and words can work together, and how to stoke the fires of creativity – from making space for accidents, to the importance of a “naughty drawer”.

Celebrated author, poet and broadcaster, Michael Rosen joins writer and broadcaster Sarah Crompton at the RA’s Festival of Ideas, to discuss the limitations of testing and the suppression of an individual’s interpretation in schools today.

The writer of 17 books in 50 languages, the British-Turkish writer and activist Elif Shafak was put on trial for her work in Turkey and accused of being a "pawn for western powers". Speaking to journalist and broadcaster Razia Iqbal in this podcast from the 2019 Festival of Ideas, Shafak talks about the feeling of being an outsider in your motherland, the urgent need for reform in the Turkish political landscape, and the role of novels in a country without free speech. Elif Shafak is the author of novels including The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, and Three Daughters of Eve.

Actor, director, writer, producer, and recently appointed Artistic Director of London’s Young Vic theatre, Kwame Kwei-Armah joins broadcaster Sarah Crompton to discuss mistakes, family, loneliness, getting death threats, serving the next generation of artists, the fun of theatre, and the enduring difficulties of getting your play on stage.

Catch up on a panel discussion between Dame Mary Beard, Adrian Rifkin, Jemima Stehli and Jacky Klein as they take our 'Renaissance Nude' exhibition as a starting point to explore how we depict, look at and respond to the nude across historical and contemporary arts. How have our attitudes on the nude changed throughout history? How does representation of the nude differ throughout the creative arts? How have topics such as gender, sexuality, power and beauty been represented and affected through the varying depictions of the nude?

Catch up on this panel discussion between British filmmaker Mike Leigh, historical consultant and author Jacqueline Riding, and Oscar-nominated production designer Suzie Davies, as they discuss the importance of truth, storytelling and revealing hidden histories in film. What is the balance between fact and fiction? How does a director’s style influence the development of character, place and narrative? What is the significance of the historical film today? This panel discussion was held to mark the display of JWM Turner RA’s 'Helvoetsluys: - the City of Utrecht, 64, Going to Sea' and John Constable RA’s 'The Opening of Waterloo Bridge', which will be exhibited at the RA side-by-side for the first time since 1832.

Catch up on this event with renowned artist Phyllida Barlow CBE RA discussing her practice, career and current exhibition at the RA with contemporary art critic, Gilda Williams. For more than 50 years, Phyllida Barlow has taken inspiration from her surroundings to create imposing installations. She creates anti-monumental sculptures from inexpensive, low-grade materials such as cardboard, fabric, plywood, polystyrene, scrim and cement. The seams of their construction are left at times visible, revealing the means of their making. The audience is challenged into a new relationship with the sculptural object, the gallery environment and the world beyond.

In this panel discussion recorded in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Julia Farrington, Associate Arts Producer at Index on Censorship, Psychoanalyst and Professor, Adam Phillips, and artist Celia Hempton explore the challenges in creating erotic art in today’s contemporary art world. The talk was chaired by journalist and broadcaster, Kirsty Wark.

As part of our 2019 International Women’s Day programme, Feminist Time, Rose Wylie RA is joined by the Director of Tate Modern, Francis Morris to discuss her projects and achievements, and explore the difficulties she has encountered in the art world. Find out more about this year's International Women's Day programme: https://roy.ac/2VH74ml

This event is part of a series of conversations between philosophers and architects which examine the relationship between architecture, politics, the environment and gender. For the second conversation in the ‘Aesthetics and Architecture’ series, philosopher Jacques Rancière will be joined by architect Farshid Moussavi RA to discuss aesthetics and architecture, and their connection with space and politics. Warning: contains strong language!

Part of our Architecture series, this conversation looks at the effect of today’s technological revolution, on what it means to be human and how we can reshape London in response. Acclaimed economist Kate Raworth joins architect and Dark Matter Laboratories founder Indy Johar as as they explore how technology can enable the visualisation and transformation of the values and parameters defining contemporary cities, and proposing new models for a more equitable urban environment. Please note, the event was held in connection with an RA display which is now closed: https://roy.ac/2H5ViOq

In this talk recorded in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, internationally renowned artist Barbara Rae RA discusses her career and recent body of work, ‘The Northwest Passage’, inspired by her recent journeys to the Arctic. Barbara Rae's book on the project is available in the RA Shop: https://roy.ac/2Ubecam

Catch up with this conversation with acclaimed New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana, as she discusses the panoramic video installation that was on show as part of 'Oceania' last year. This landmark exhibition showcased diverse art of the region of Oceania, from the historic to the contemporary – but if you missed it, you can also catch up with our series of Oceania stories here: https://roy.ac/2NU90rA If you'd rather watch a video of Lisa Reihana in conversation, you'll find it here: https://roy.ac/2E3tpU0

"Sometimes we need to spend time doing nothing – just stare into space. We need that fallow time," says Lauren Child, when journalist and author Nicolette Jones poses the question "how do you come up with your ideas?" This, and many more thoughts about creativity, from the 'Charlie and Lola' author and Waterstones Children's Laureate, in this inspiring talk from the RA's Festival of Ideas.

Turner Prize-nominee Yinka Shonibare RA discusses his interdisciplinary art practice – critiquing the establishment, money and power in the art world and emerging art markets. He speaks to critic and author Louisa Buck, as part of the RA's Festival of Ideas. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

In a lecture at the RA's first Festival of Ideas, author and historian David Cannadine reveals how Sir Winston Churchill’s passion for art went beyond that of a private hobby, forming an essential part of his public persona. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Four leading artists are put on the spot with questions about art, culture and creativity, debating the importance of arts education, the civic role of museums and galleries, and artistic inspiration. Chaired by the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow, the event formed the finale of the RA Festival of Ideas. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas line-up, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Celebrated photojournalist Don McCullin describes his experiences of war, poverty and suffering across the world during his 50-year career. Part of the Festival of Ideas programme, McCullin talks of sacrifices and consequences that have resulted from his commitment to the camera. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

The bestselling author of over 140 books for children, Michael Morpurgo talks to journalist and critic Claire Armitstead at the RA Festival of Ideas about his two new novels. 'In The Mouth of The Wolf' tells the epic true story of Morpurgo’s two uncles during World War Two, while 'Flamingo Boy', inspired by the author’s grandson, focuses on a young autistic boy living in France during the Occupation. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

The legendary British portrait photographer David Bailey joins RA Artistic Director Tim Marlow to share how he fell in love with Picasso, life in fashion and the arts – “it’s terrible” – and his approach to models and portraiture. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Working-class artists continue to be underrepresented in the arts. How has this inequality shaped the practice of contemporary artists? Has it helped or hindered their creativity? Oscar- and Grammy-winning film director Asif Kapadia, award-winning crime novelist Dreda Say Mitchell, and the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA, as they reflect on their own experiences of class and its influence on their work. Chaired by the writer and broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake, the panel will also look at what needs to change and how. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Experimental artist and designer Es Devlin provides an insight into her process for creating unique kinetic sculptures for theatre, opera and pop concerts, museums and galleries at the Festival of Ideas. With clients ranging from Beyoncé and Kanye West to the Barbican, Devlin is an expert at creating a stage to enhance any performance. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas line-up, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

One of the most respected dance artists working in the UK today, Akram Khan joins writer and broadcaster Sarah Crompton at the RA’s Festival of Ideas, opening up on his influences, his work with the “godfather of visual art”, the challenges of creative collaboration, and the process of ageing as a dancer. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Renowned as one of the most sublime dancers of her generation, Tamara Rojo speaks to broadcaster John Wilson about her role as Artistic Director and Lead Principal dancer of the English National Ballet. Speaking at the RA Festival of Ideas, Rojo shares how she discovered ballet, the euphoria of being on stage and coming to terms with the physical limitations of age. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Thriller writer Nicci Gerrard talks about how everyday creativity can keep a person connected to the world around them. In conversation with academic Hannah Zeilig, Gerrard discusses how the arts can keep people well, aid recovery and support longer lives, better lived. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Rupert Goold, Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre, and playwright James Graham discuss the importance of the theatre in the current cultural climate. Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Sarah Crompton at the RA's Festival of Ideas, the speakers emphasise the value of creating communities through live theatre. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas line-up, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Designer Thomas Heatherwick speaks to the RA’s Head of Architecture Kate Goodwin at the RA Festival of Ideas, about some of his most celebrated architectural projects, including the Rolling Bridge in London, the 2012 Olympic Cauldron and the newly opened Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas line-up, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Goldie sits down with broadcaster and journalist Nihal Arthanayake to discuss the story behind his passion for both music – and his place in the birth of drum ‘n’ bass – and visual art, with his success as a graffiti artist in the 1980s. Following a traumatic childhood, which he describes in his memoir 'All Things Remembered', Goldie believes creative expression saved his life. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

In an hour of family comedy at the Festival of Ideas, Andy Stanton, the author of the Mr. Gum! books, talks to young fans about his characters, from Old Granny to Alan Taylor, and how he became a writer. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

In a frank discussion with broadcast journalist Georgina Godwin, Franny Moyle talks about the challenges of writing on well-known artists, how she goes about renanimating their life stories, and why she didn’t use her degree in Art History to become a museum specialist. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Sophie Ward is the winner of the RA and Pin Drop short story award: hear Ward's story, 'Sunbed', read aloud to a live audience by actress Gwendoline Christie. The RA and Pin Drop’s short story award offers a unique platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short stories. The judging panel includes Pin Drop co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Artistic Director, Tim Marlow.

Part 3/3 of our 'Does identity matter?' series Join Mary Duggan as she shares her experience of setting up two successful practices – Duggan Morris Architects and Mary Duggan Architects. Dugan reflects on lessons learned, and the role identity has played in creating her own distinct profile, focus and skillset. This event was organised in partnership with the London Festival of Architecture.

Part 2/3 of our 'Does identity matter?' series: Join Shumi Bose, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Central Saint Martins, UAL, as she chairs a panel of experts examining how a city's architectural landscape can influence its identity – from unmissable "icons" that define our skyline to the more technical, but no less important, influences of height restrictions. Speakers: - Adam Greenfield (writer and urbanist; author of Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life) - Mustafa Chehabeddine (Design Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox) - Emily Gee (London Planning Director, Historic England) - Morag Myerscough (designer/artist fascinated by how colour, pattern and words can change urban environments and people’s perceptions of spaces into places) - Shumi Bose (Chair) Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Central Saint Martins, UAL; curator at the RIBA This event was organised in partnership with the London Festival of Architecture.

Part 1/3 of our 'Does identity matter?' series: Evening Standard architecture critic Rob Bevan chairs a panel of experts exploring how a city’s identity can be pulled apart through various architectural and spatial interventions – looking at examples ranging from Tel Aviv's Shapira and Neve Sha'anan neighbourhoods to the former Ford factory in Dagenham. Speakers: - Verity Jane Keefe (visual artist, working predominantly within the public realm) - Dr Clare Melhuish (Director, UCL Urban Laboratory; an anthropologist specialising in architecture and the built environment) - Maya Ober (founding editor, Depatriarchise Design, a practice-led research platform that examines the complicity of design in the reproduction of oppressive systems; scientific assistant, Institute of Industrial Design, HGK FHNW Basel) - Rhiannon Williams (poet, MA Narrative Environments, Central St Martins) - Rob Bevan (chair) – architecture critic at the Evening Standard, has written widely on identity, destruction and the city This event was organised in partnership with the London Festival of Architecture.

Catch up on this talk by Dr Nathan Waddell as he reveals the story of the controversial artist, writer and critic Wyndham Lewis, his relationship to T. S. Eliot and why his 1938 portrait of the littérateur was rejected by the Summer Exhibition.

Catch up on this event from the Benjamin West Lecture Theatre: Antony Gormley RA and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, debate the rich and intriguing relationship between theology and contemporary visual art.

100 years after women won the right to vote, Historic England and the RA present a panel discussion on the heritage value of places that have been targeted by protestors. How much historic value is there in sites that have witnessed political and social protest, and should this be recorded, shared and looked after? Speakers include: Prof Krista Cowman – Professor of History and Director of Research, University of Lincoln; author of Women in British politics, c. 1689-1979 Emily Gee – London Planning Director, Historic England Stewy – artist, author of life size stencils of psycho-geographically placed British icons, such as Mary on the Green Rachel Cooke (chair) – journalist and author of Her Brilliant Career: Ten Extraordinary Women of the Fifties (2013)

Panel discussion and part of "The Successful Artist?" programme. Is commercial success evidence of artistic achievement? Does fame or visibility equate to success? Who decides who is successful – the public, institutions, critics, peers or the artist themselves? What is the role of education for artistic achievement? How much of these factors can be determined by the artist? Join artist Yinka Shonibare MBE RA, Head of the RA Schools, Eliza Bonham Carter, and the Director of Ikon Gallery Jonathan Watkins to discuss who and what defines an artist’s success today.

For 250 years, the Summer Exhibition has provided thousands of artists with a crucial form of competition, inspiration and publicity. In anticipation of "The Great Spectacle", curators Professor Mark Hallett and Dr Sarah Turner select key works from the annual event, revealing its remarkable history and influence on British art.

In association with our Invisible Landscapes project in the new Architecture Studio, Anna Puigjaner of Barcelona-based architecture practice MAIO explores the impact that smart technologies like Alexa and sharing economy platforms like Airbnb and Deliveroo are having on our domestic spaces.

Catch up with this talk by acclaimed photographer and artist Miles Aldridge, discussing his career and new project at the 2018 London Original Print Fair.

Catch up with this talk from Dr Erin Griffey, exploring Queen Henrietta Maria's assertive, sophisticated and fashionable influence on one of England's most infamous art collections. Henrietta's influence on art at the Stuart court has traditionally been downplayed as a portrait subject, but she also played an active role in the court masque, the luxury trade and the visual arts and was a patron and a director of display in her palaces.

Catch up with this event exploring how the projects submitted for the Royal Academy’s Urban Jigsaw competition have developed over the last two years. In 2015, the Royal Academy ran a competition calling for architects to come up with creative uses for London’s brownfield sites. We asked for ideas that were innovative, imaginative, research driven and, ultimately, capable of realising the potential of these missing pieces of London’s urban jigsaw. The resulting projects offered new infrastructure, housing, community projects, creative studios, and proposed a new typology for courthouses and the administration of justice. This event invites back three of the finalists, Alma-nac, Atelier Kite, and Chetwoods Architects, to discuss their ideas and their relevance to the capital two years on.

Catch up with this discussion exploring how architecture is sensitive to time – from the intimately felt rhythms of the body, changeable urban currents, or slow everyday practices that influence how we experience architecture spatially, to the ways in which the physicality of a building, city or landscape is altered over time. Speakers: Steve Chance – architect, founder of Chance De Silva, a practice set up to explore the possibilities of architecture in interaction with other participants. Their recent collaboration with Scanner, Vex House, has been shortlisted for the AJ House of the Year Award. Carol Mavor – writer, academic, and filmmaker who has published widely on photography, cinema, colour and childhood. She is the author of the film Fairy Tale Still Almost Blue which will also be screened during the event. Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) – artist working on the experimental terrain between sound and space. Active in sonic art, producing concerts, installations and recordings, Scanner has scored a number of critically acclaimed pieces such as the Narnia ballet (2015), Philips Wake-Up Light (2009), and the re-opening of the Stedelijk Museum among others.

Catch up with this panel discussion exploring the impact of digital technologies on architecture, and the questions this raises for cities and society. Speakers: Kate Davies and Liam Young (Unknown Fields) – a nomadic design studio that ventures out on expeditions to the ends of the earth; to bear witness to alternative worlds, alien landscapes, industrial ecologies and precarious wilderness Lara Lesmes – architect, teacher at the Architectural Association, and co-director of Space Popular Alastair Parvin – strategic designer, civic entrepreneur, 00; co-founder, Wikihouse Foundation Edwin Heathcote (chair) – architecture and design critic, Financial Times; editor, Reading Design Respondents: Anna Puigjaner – architect, tutor at the RCA, and co-founder of MAIO studio, commissioned to design the first project at the Architecture Studio as part of the RA's Invisible Landscapes installation.

Catch up with this talk from architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, discussing how the layers of networks and digital information in urban space are radically transforming how we understand and design cities.

Catch up with this discussion on architecture in outer space, in which a panel of experts explores the questions extra-terrestrial living raises for technology as an industry and humanity as a whole. Speakers: Rachel Armstrong – professor of Experimental Architecture at Newcastle University, and author of Star Ark: A Living, Self-Sustaining Spaceship Irene Gallou – Head of the Specialist Modelling Group at Foster+Partners Jorge Mañes Rubio – artist at the Advanced Concepts Team, European Space Agency (ESA) and designer of The Moon Temple Victor Buchli (chair) – Professor of Material Culture, UCL; author of An Archaeology of the Immaterial; editor of Home Cultures

Catch up with this in-depth discussion about the often overlooked work of the Danish architect, educator and writer Kay Fisker and find out more about his revolutionary contribution to housing design.

Catch up with this talk by Robin Simon, editor of the new book ‘The Royal Academy: History and Collections’, as he reveals the inside story of Johan Zoffany’s 1772 masterpiece.

Catch up with this talk by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of The Queen’s Pictures at the Royal Collection, as he discusses 'Charles I (Le Roi à la chasse)'. The painting is one of the most emphatically understated of Van Dyck’s royal portraits, yet one of the most significant in Charles I’s collection.

Catch up with this talk by Dr Nicholas Tromans, Curator of Watts Gallery, to hear about one of the most ambitious and dramatic sculptures of the 19th century.

Catch up with a talk from architect Matthias Kohler as he discusses the work of his practice Gramazio Kohler, how we are approaching a digital building culture, and his work combining architectural design with robotic technology and innovative material research.

Catch up with this panel discussion exploring how architecture can help to create inclusive, liveable, and socially aware cities that embrace the full gender spectrum in an age of robotisation.

Catch up with a talk from Annette Wickham, Curator of Works on Paper at the RA, uncovering the militant campaigns, changing attitudes and evolution of the professional female artist.

Catch up on this conversation between Sarah Pickstone and poet and playwright Rommi Smith as they discuss Pickstone’s latest painting installation and her research into the life and work of Angelica Kauffman RA.

Catch up with this panel discussion from artists Sutapa Biswas, Jessy Jetpacks and Zadie Xa as they discuss how they use moving image in their art and its potential for structural change. Chaired by broadcaster, film-maker and journalist Bidisha.

Catch up on an evening of short fiction written and read by Man Booker Prize-winning author Graham Swift, including his short story 'Haematology' from his critically acclaimed collection 'England & Other Stories'.

Catch up with this talk from Dr Fiona Bradley, Director of The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, as she discusses one of Dalí’s most famous and best loved paintings in the context of the artist's iconography of Port Lligat (the landscape of his home), Gala (his wife) and above all – himself.

Catch up with this talk exploring how the aesthetics of architecture are shaped in response to gender issues. Speakers: Andrés Jaque – architect and founder of the Office for Political Innovation, Professor at Columbia University and Visiting Professor at Princeton University Nina Power – philosopher and cultural critic, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at University of Roehampton, and author of One-Dimensional Woman and many articles on European philosophy, politics and culture

Catch up with a talk from curator Per Rumberg as he introduces the significant artists and masterpieces in our exhibition reuniting the extraordinary art collection of Charles I.

Catch up on this talk, exploring how 20th century artists have used eroticism in their work, and why it continues to challenge viewers and provoke controversy today. Speakers: Dr Alyce Mahon, Reader in Modern and Contemporary Art History, University of Cambridge, is a specialist in modern and contemporary art and their erotic politics. Rowan Pelling, editor of The Amorist and former editor of The Erotic Review. Adham Faramawy, artist and RA Schools alumnus. Dr Shahidha Bari, Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London & Fellow of Forum for European Philosophy, London School of Economics

Catch up with critically acclaimed actress Lisa Dwan reading from ‘Foirades/Fizzles’ by Samuel Beckett, a unique collection of short prose published in collaboration with Jasper Johns in 1972. Please note that for copyright reasons, we have only included a short excerpt of Lisa Dwan's reading of ‘Foirades/Fizzles’.

Catch up with out event exploring architectural fictions and allegories. From the surrealist references in early OMA Manhattan drawings, to Bernard Tschumi’s 'Advertisements for Architecture' and the science fiction landscapes in the work of Lebbeus Woods, architects have used this approach to reveal the contradictory nature of the world and to question reality itself. This event brought together different practitioners whose work is imbued with poetry, art and symbolic meaning. This event was inspired by the fictional landscapes in our Dalí / Duchamp exhibition. Speakers: Sam Jacob – architect, columnist, design critic; principal of Sam Jacob Studio Neil Spiller – founding Director of the AVATAR Group; the Hawksmoor Chair of Architecture and Landscape and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, London; author of Surrealism and Architecture – A Blistering Romance Peter Wilson – architect; co-founder and director of Bolles+Wilson Niall Hobhouse – art collector, writer, trustee of Drawing Matter

Hear from celebrated Spanish-Italian architects Barozzi Veiga as they discuss some of their recent projects. Known for its sophisticated, sensitive approach and spatial quietude, the practice has won numerous national and international competitions. In 2015, they were shortlisted for the project to redevelop King’s College’s Strand site in London.

In this discussion, we explore how sensuality, sexuality and voyeurism have been a source of inspiration in architecture – from tactile, sensual interiors to sinuous shapes of buildings. Our panel: Nigel Coates – architect and designer; author of 'Ecstacity at the Architecture Association' (1992), 'Mixtacity' at Tate Modern (2007), 'Hypnerotosphere' at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale, and 'Picaresque' at the Triennale Design Museum (2012) Rosa Ferré – Head of Exhibitions, CCCB; curator of '1000m2 of Desire' Penelope Haralambidou – Acting Director, MPhil/PhD Architectural Design at The Bartlett School of Architecture; author of 'Marcel Duchamp and the Architecture of Desire' Gonzalo Herrero Delicado (chair) – Architecture Programme Curator at the RA

Taking our current Jasper Johns exhibition as a starting point, this discussion explores the question of how we view and interpret art more widely. Where a work of art has a narrative, would our experience of it be enhanced by having more knowledge, or are our senses enough? Where art is explained, who is the author of that interpretation and how are they directing us in how we view art? Is it the role of the artist to explain their work? Our panel: Cathie Pilkington, artist Gill Hart, Head of Education at the National Gallery Kirsteen McSwein, Curator, Interpretation at Tate (chair) Dr David Dibosa, reader in Museology at UAL

In this panel discussion we explore how the concept of home and domesticity is becoming disconnected from the traditional understanding of a house. How has the meaning of home changed in today’s mobile society? What constitutes home for those who have had to forcedly abandon or voluntarily leave their houses? Are temporary structures an appropriate architectural response? And how is domesticity determined by temporality, sensory experience, personal affection, collective memory, and social networks? Speakers: Robert Mull – Head of the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Brighton; curator of multiple shows on the Calais Jungle Mike Seal – Reader in Critical Pedagogy, Newman University, Birmingham; editor of 'Understanding and Responding to Homeless Experiences, Identities and Cultures' Helen Taylor – writer, researcher and lecturer on refugees and migration; author of 'Refugees and the Meaning of Home: Cypriot Narratives of Loss, Longing and Daily Life in London' Victor Buchli (chair) – Professor of Material Culture, UCL; author of 'An Archaeology of the Immaterial'; editor of 'Home Cultures'

Professor Robert Meyrick, Head of the School of Art at Aberystwyth University, introduces our exhibition on the work of Charles Tunnicliffe, Britain’s foremost 20th-century wildlife artist. Please note this exhibition has now ended, but you can see more about the show and Charles Tunnicliffe here: roy.ac/tunnicliffe

Artists Yinka Shonibare RA and WESSIELING join ‘Matisse in the Studio’ co-curator Ellen McBreen to examine the ethical and artistic considerations of cultural appropriation within the arts, in a discussion chaired by writer and broadcaster Bidisha.

“A portrait,” Matisse said, “is a quarrel.” His long, laborious studio sessions were intense sites of contestation between physical resemblance and what Matisse understood to be the more lasting, essential character of the person he was portraying. Such sessions frequently resulted in portraits that did not please their subjects. Art historian and co-curator of 'Matisse in the Studio', Ellen McBreen explores how specific objects from the artist's personal collection – a Yoruba mask, a Buddha bust, and a medieval head – provided alternative models for the visual expression of individuality and identity. roy.ac/matisse

Independent art historian and exhibition co-curator Professor Dawn Ades introduces our exhibition, exploring Dalí and Duchamp's unexpected friendship and their shared interests and attitudes to art and life.

Named by some as one of the greatest omissions of design history, Aino Marsio-Aalto belongs to a line of women architects whose work has become overshadowed by that of their better-known male partners. Our panel discuss her often overlooked contribution to Nordic Modernist architecture. On the panel: Summer Islam – architect working for 6a architects; graduated from the Architectural Association; teaches a design studio for the MA in Architecture at the London Metropolitan University Aino Niskanen – Professor of History of Architecture, Aalto University, Finland Judi Loach – architectural and cultural historian, Professor in Early Modern and Modern European Cultural History, Cardiff University; Chair of Docomomo UK

From Elle Décor to Changing Rooms and Pinterest, the often consumerist agendas of trade shows, television, advertising and social media have always shaped our domestic spaces. This panel is Deborah Chambers – Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Newcastle University, Emily Rees – PhD student studying the television set in postwar Britain, Deborah Sugg Ryan – Professor of Design History and Theory, University of Portsmouth, and Penny Sparke – Director of Kingston University's Modern Interiors Research Centre.

The two major artists discuss their approach to painting, their inspiration and the continuing evolution of their work, in a conversation chaired by our Artistic Director, Tim Marlow.

Edith Devaney, co-curator of Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’ introduces the exhibition and highlights how Johns's work can awaken the senses and reveal new ways of seeing art. roy.ac/jasperjohns

The four paintings known collectively as The Seasons (1985-86) stand at the mid-point of Jasper Johns’s 60-year career, presenting a retrospective of Johns’s artistic and personal life. The paintings are among his most revealing works, serving as an allegory of the four seasons of the year and the four stages of Johns's life. Roberta Bernstein, co-curator of the RA's current Jasper Johns exhibition, tells us more. roy.ac/jasperjohns

Artists Brian Catling RA and Pablo Bronstein join Tate Senior Curator Catherine Wood and Dr Jen Harvie to explore the evolution of performance art in museums and its entrance into the contemporary art market.

Have you seen the monochrome stripes and brightly coloured shapes of Daniel Buren's 'Diamonds and Circles, works in situ', at Tottenham Court Road station? Here, the artist discusses his practice and the significance of intervening in public space with the RA's Artistic Director, Tim Marlow.

Artist Miroslaw Balka and architectural historian Joseph Rykwert discuss the concepts of memory and conflict, and how these are explored in contemporary art and architecture from UK to Poland – the birthplace of both speakers. Conflict leaves a mark upon cities, societies and culture that endures not only in the sensibilities of the generations living it, but also in the identities of those that follow. In the aftermath, memories of conflict continue to have great impact, frequently creating greater political awareness and engagement. Culture reflects the values of a society and conflict has historically had a strong influence on art and architecture. In fact, it can often be the motivation behind speculative new ideas, while also providing a platform for reflection, recalling history and leaving a legacy to future generations. Architecture and art have played an important role in shaping the politics of memory around violent conflicts, defining the way they are later remembered. This talk follows on from an earlier conversation between both speakers, which can be watched here: roy.ac/2usZi2Z

Hear Cherise Saywell's winning story read aloud to a live audience by actress Dame Penelope Wilton, followed by a discussion of the work with the author. The RA and Pin Drop’s short story award offers a unique platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short stories. The judging panel includes Pin Drop co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Artistic Director, Tim Marlow.

Like many of its counterparts, London is in a continuous cycle of change. The economic interests of financial corporations, the growth of the tourist industry, migration and the consequences of Brexit all have an impact on London’s urban environment and thus its identity. In this context, architecture becomes an important currency for maintaining London’s profile as a global capital. How then is the architectural language of London evolving? What makes its architecture distinctive from Shanghai, New York, Dubai and other global capitals? Is the identity of London under threat as a result of globalisation? What does all this mean for its citizens?

In the midst of Brexit and in an age of political upheaval in the UK and abroad, how are ideas about national identity portrayed through art? How can art and spaces for art can define national identity? What is the role of the wider art community in defining national identity? Our discussion begins post-Wall Street Crash with the government's Works Progress Administration (WPA) programme, which aimed to generate art that re-examined American culture and values and define a new national identity. Using this as a catalyst for our conversation, we refocus our discussion on the contemporary UK art world, looking at how artists today are responding to times of national crisis. What is the role of the art community in forming ideas around what it means to be British today?

Author Owen Hopkins discusses his latest book with ‘Icon’ editor John Jervis. 'Lost Futures: The Disappearing Architecture of Post-War Britain explores the rise and fall of buildings constructed in Britain between 1945 and 1979 that reflected the deep-rooted belief in architecture’s capacity to build a better world. The book highlights the ideas and values that shaped these buildings’ creation – and how changing external contexts, whether social, economic or political, as well as the buildings’ own internal characteristics, played a part in the subsequent demise and destruction of these "concrete monstrosities".

To fully enjoy this podcast, we recommend listening while viewing the images Cornelia Parker presented alongside her talk: roy.ac/2uuXhFB Cornelia Parker, one of today’s most renowned artists, speaks candidly about what inspires her and her printmaking practice, in conversation with Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of The Financial Times. Cornelia Parker is well known for her large-scale, often site-specific, installations. Often there is an apocalyptic tone to her work, but Parker also demonstrates a concern with the more insidious effects of global warming and consumerism. Parker works in a variety of media and has collaborated with institutions such as HM Customs & Excise, Royal Armouries, Madame Tussauds and Victoria & Albert Museum. She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1997 and appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2010.

While much attention has been placed on the drastic changes in East London, there are equally major projects in West London that are reconfiguring the nature of the built environment. Old Oak Common, Earls Court and Acton are just some of the next housebuilding hotspots in London, and with the opening of the East-West Crossrail line and the expansion plans for Heathrow Airport, these projects will drastically transform the economy, cityscape and thus identity of West London. The character of the urban fabric of London varies across the city, and has been shaped over time by varying economic, political and social factors. As new developments emerge they need to both respond to existing conditions and help formulate a future vision and identity for the locale within London. How are these new developments responding to existing and future identities? What is the role of local communities in defining these new areas?

From Stratford to Royal Docks, the identity of East London is being drastically reshaped, turning this former industrial area into one of the new cultural and financial districts of the city. We look at key projects in development that will have a major impact on East London with architects, planners and social and political commentators. The architectural heritage of London varies between sub-regions, boroughs and local communities, creating a city with many different characters. Will this be the case in the future, and how are new developments responding to existing identities and shaping new ones? And indeed, how important are these identities to the city’s future strength and prosperity?

Portuguese architects Aires Mateus talk about their calm approach to architecture, exploring light and form through their recent projects. Over the last thirty years, Aires Mateus have gained international recognition for their delicate and respectful contemporary reinterpretation of Portuguese architectural tradition. Their portfolio started with the small-scale residential projects for which they became best-known and has now expanded internationally, with commissions for a wide range of public and private clients.

Professor Christina Lodder and writer and curator Konstantin Akinsha explore the complex relationship between the Soviet leadership and the avant-garde art movement in Russia between 1917-32, in a discussion chaired by art historian Theodora Clarke. Avant-garde artists were some of the first to embrace the Bolshevik cause, with a common interest in “a new art for a new society”. As Anatoly Lunacharsky, People’s Commissar of Enlightenment, declared in 1918 to composer Sergey Prokofiev, “You are revolutionary in music as we are revolutionary in life”. Members of the avant-garde took key posts in the new regime and benefited from state resources. However within a few years, the state began to withdraw its support, feeling that abstract art could not advance the communist cause if the masses could not understand it. A more persuasive and recognisable art best suited the party’s requirements. By 1932, the politicised figurative art of Socialist Realism became the dominant style and independent artistic movements vanished.

Painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling discusses her work with the RA’s Artistic Director, Tim Marlow. One of Britain’s foremost contemporary artists, Hambling is perhaps best known for her compelling portraits, paintings of the sea and her celebrated and controversial public sculpture, including 'A Conversation with Oscar Wilde' (1998) and 'Scallop' (2003). Her work is represented in major British Collections including the British Museum, the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, V&A and Tate. Hambling has never been afraid of addressing big themes and delivers the simultaneous presence of life and death in her work. Following her recent retrospective at the British Museum, her exhibition, Edge, at Marlborough Fine Art (1 March–13 April), presented a new series where polar icecaps melt, Aleppo and its inhabitants fall, ghosts hover and Hamlet questions.

Scottish architect Neil Gillespie and historian Simon Green discuss the intriguing yet often overlooked contribution of Peter Womersley to Scottish modern architecture. Trained at the Architectural Association in London, most of Womersley's first commissions were private homes for clients including textile designer Bernat Klein. These experimental and poetic houses show their debt to Frank Lloyd Wright, while his larger public commissions followed a more brutalist tradition with in-situ concrete and strong geometric forms. These include the Gala Fairydean Stadium with its distinctive concrete origami structure and soaring cantilevers, designed in collaboration with Ove Arup, and the highly sculptural Boiler House, for the Melrose District Asylum. Although most of his works are located in the Scottish Borders, with others across the UK, he was a frequent traveller and lived and worked briefly in both Hong Kong and Kuwait.

Artists Sonia Boyce RA, Dr Kimathi Donkor and Jacob V Joyce join arts practitioner and academic Dr Michael McMillan to discuss whether black artists today are expected to challenge global and national issues of race and representation. Can art and spaces for art contribute to an ongoing dialogue between visual culture and activism in the context of racial prejudice? How do artists see their role? Is art an effective vehicle for protest, grief or hope?

Professor Sarah Churchwell examines the political, cultural and aesthetic contexts to work by Grant Wood, Edward Hopper, Reginald Marsh and Georgia O’Keeffe, alongside popular films of the Great Depression era. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the United States confronted for the first time the possibility that the American experiment might have failed. It was during this period that the phrase “the American dream” was first coined and became a catchphrase for debating the promises and failures of the American project. American artists responded to questions about a national or collective sense of identity with works that raised questions about history, politics, social realism and allegory, about the nation’s mythological past, its anxious present and its hopes for the future. Sarah Churchwell is professorial fellow in American literature and chair of public understanding of the humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London.

Throughout history the arts have been subject to varying degrees of state control in different countries across the world. It is evident that art can survive even under a severe curtailment of artistic freedom, but can creativity flourish? State support is significant to the development of the arts, but even in countries where freedom of expression is encouraged, it can also unduly influence its direction through funding, policies and control over education. Should art be connected to the state? To what extent do governments preside over their countries' cultural sectors today? Speakers: Elena Sudakova – Founder and Director of GRAD: Gallery for Russian Arts and Design Edmund Clark – award-winning artist who uses photography, found imagery and text to explore links between representation and politics. Kirsty Lang (chair) – journalist and broadcaster, presenter of Radio 4’s ‘Front Row’.

Inspired by idealist proposals for a new way of life after the Russian Revolution, the panel interrogate the feasibility of co-living that is accessible to all, and suggest what other aspects of our everyday life could benefit from being more communal. Is there room for shared spaces in an individualistic society? Can a more communal attitude help tackle the issues of contemporary society, or does it make them more acute? Does shared responsibility lead to no responsibility? Speakers: Helen Jarvis – Reader in Social Geography at Newcastle University, whose research interests include the “social architectures” of shared space and self-governance in collaborative living arrangements. Anna Puigjaner – Co-founder of Barcelona-based MAIO studio, winner of the 2016 Wheelwright Prize for her proposal to study collective housing models across the world and their approaches to organising domestic spaces. Andy Willimott – Lecturer in Modern Russian/Soviet History at the University of Reading, author of 'Living the Revolution: Urban Communes & Soviet Socialism, 1917 – 1932'. Clem Cecil (chair) – Executive Director of Pushkin House, co-founder of the Moscow Architecture Preservation Society, Trustee of SAVE Europe’s Heritage, former director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage and SAVE Europe’s Heritage

Art historian R. Tripp Evans delves deep into the significance and origins of Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic – a painting at once one of the most recognisable and enigmatic images in American art. When American Gothic debuted at the Art Institute of Chicago in the autumn of 1930, critics from New York to Berlin hailed the work as a “national portrait”. Some championed the image as a tribute to a lost agrarian age, while others perceived in it a wicked satire of American provincialism. Decidedly more gothic than it is American, the painting conjures the ghosts and family secrets of Wood’s own past, casting each of its haunting figures in multiple roles. Art historian R. Tripp Evans is the award-winning author of 'Grant Wood: A Life' (2010) and professor of art history at Wheaton College, Massachusetts.

Looking to the future was an essential part of Modernism; its postwar advocates believed that they were building a new and better world. In a second age of austerity, when we face housing shortages once more, do the utopian ideals of postwar Modernism offer any solution? Speakers: Peter Barber – architect, principal, Peter Barber Architects, and lecturer, University of Westminster Farshid Moussavi RA – architect, founder, Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA), and Professor in Practice of Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design Douglas Murphy – architect, architecture correspondent, Icon magazine, and author of 'Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture' Adrian Forty (chair) – Emeritus Professor of the History of Architecture, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

Exhibition co-curator Professor John Milner introduces ‘Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932’ and investigates how artists from Kazimir Malevich to Alexander Deineka made Russian art revolutionary in the first 15 years after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. The revolution triggered radical innovations in Russian art. Encouraged to work collectively to promote the revolution, artists began to make a face for the Bolshevik regime, replacing signs of the Imperial command with an art for the people. Artists including Kandinsky, Malevich, Tatlin, Rodchenko and Popova turned the storm of the Russian Revolution into a radical experiment in art and society. In 1932, the work of these artists was celebrated and exhibited in 'Artists of the Russian Federation over Fifteen Years', a diverse survey held in Leningrad and curated by the critic Nikolai Punin. Yet later in the same year, all independent art groups were dissolved, and Socialist Realism became the dominant force in the Russian art world.

Dr Natalia Murray, co-curator of the RA's ‘Revolution: Russian Art 1917-32’, explores how visual art was used to propagate revolutionary and communist ideas in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 aimed to destroy the old bourgeois society and build a new, homogenous socialist state. Overnight becoming the ruling party in Russia, the Bolsheviks aimed to use the power of mass propaganda to establish their founding mythology and disseminate their ideas to an overwhelmingly rural and illiterate population. The leader of the new Bolshevik state, Vladimir Lenin, proclaimed that culture should support political needs, which effectively meant that all culture was now viewed as propaganda. The Bolshevik regime also believed that culture should not be for a privileged minority, but should be of mass appeal, promoting a so-called “proletarian” art.

Today, although its monuments are vanishing, Brutalism enjoys a ghostly afterlife. Following decades of official and public contempt, its rehabilitation began when concrete tower blocks featured prominently in 1990s music videos by Britpop groups such as Blur and Suede. This revival continued in mid-2000s blogs by writers such as Owen Hatherley, and today it flourishes in Instagram accounts, soft furnishings, art galleries and coffee-table books. Meanwhile the buildings themselves have become hot property, changing hands for sums that are far beyond the means of their intended inhabitants. What are the causes of this strange resurgence in Brutalism’s popularity? Is it simply nostalgia, or does it represent a form of opposition to the politics that caused the demolition of so many of its exemplars? Why does Brutalism seem so at home in new media that are the very opposite of its material ideals? Are its fans interested in the ethic or just the aesthetic, to appropriate the terms that Reyner Banham used to interrogate Brutalism in the 1950s? If it’s the latter, what does this fetishism tell us about our current situation?

Ian Christie discusses the place of film as an art form after the revolution in Russia and the relationship between Soviet filmmakers and other artists of the time. The status of film as an art form rose considerably after the revolution, with Lenin claiming that “of all the arts, for us the cinema is the most important”. However, cinema’s success created bitter divisions among artists seeking support from the generally conservative regime, and encouraged disdain among some of the leading avant-garde artists of the time. Christie is Anniversary Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck, University of London and advisor on film in the RA's exhibition 'Revolution: Russia 1917-1932'.

A panel discussion exploring the relationship between art, gender and materials and how an artist’s process, biography and scale of work can shape our reading of gendered art practice. The panel is comprised of artists Ann Christopher RA, Coco Crampton and Mark Dunhill (of Dunhill and O’Brien, and chaired by Helena Reckitt, Senior Lecturer in Curating at Goldsmiths University

Izaskun Chinchilla leads a discussion that asks how architectural design practices can be used to empower women. Would an architecture that is more in tune with the needs of women be more beneficial for everyone? How can planning policy adapt to the fact that men and women use public space in different ways? Would embracing the aesthetics associated with women allow architecture engage a wider public? Chinchilla is characteristic of a new generation of architects focusing on the connections between social and scientific thinking. While her practice and research are are consistently informed by a dedicated attention to “how a fully developed female mind-set can create new business, cultural, social and environmental opportunities".

Architect, curator and teacher Daria Paramonova discusses the aesthetics, economics and ethics of Moscow's cityscape today. As Moscow faces a remarkable stage of urban redevelopment, it is forced to engage with spaces that have been forgotten since the fall of the Soviet Union 25 years ago. With an unprecedented emphasis on pedestrians, safety, ecology and technology, the city is rebuilding its buildings, streets and public spaces, transforming into an urban environment with new parameters of comfort.

This conversation with painter Timothy Hyman RA explores Green’s career from the 1960s to the present day, focusing on his new exhibition at the RA; the centrepiece of which is a never-before-shown painting telling the story of Green’s mother’s second marriage, seen through his eyes as a 13-year-old boy. The paintings of Anthony Green RA are immediately recognisable from their characteristically irregular shapes and the artist’s acutely personal choice of subject matter; his work has been a fixture in the Academy’s Summer Exhibition for the last 50 years.

In this exclusive joint appearance, leading stars of stage and screen Siân Phillips and Eileen Atkins read selected works of exceptional Russian literature. The readings conclude with a Q&A chaired by Pin Drop founder Simon Oldfield.

New York-based practice Hollwich Kushner / HWKN put people at the centre of their projects to create innovative social experiences, through the exploration of new functional programmes and building typologies. Their projects are rich in personality and responsive to local context – in 2012 the practice gained widespread international attention with an air-cleaning blue spiky installation called Wendy, with which they won the MoMA PS1’s Young Architects Programme. They are also the founders of Architizer, one of the world’s largest online platforms for architecture and design, revolutionising the dissemination of architecture. Recent built projects include a sculptural timber leisure pavilion at Fire Island Pines in New York, the historic centre of gay vacation culture, and the transformation of a 20th-century paint factory into an innovation centre at the University of Pennsylvania.

With the news that little-known Catalan studio RCR Arquitectes has won this year's Pritzker Prize, we revisit a 2010 talk given at the RA by one third of the trio, Carme Pigem. All three studied at the School of Architecture in Vallès, and then set up their practice in their home town of Olot, Catalonia, in 1988. The studio has tackled everything from athletics track to library and winery to kindergarten. In this talk, Pigem discusses her career and the studio's thoughtful work so far.

Think of postwar Modernism and images of monumental buildings inevitably come to mind. However, there were also figures working to introduce architectural modernity on a more approachable scale: the artists who illustrated Ladybird books, for instance, and the designers who created the first chain pubs. By expanding our focus to incorporate these minor modernisms we can develop a more holistic understanding of the period and move beyond the canonisation of certain buildings as icons to picture a more vibrant, living modernity. Speakers: John Grindrod – Writer and author of 'Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain' Ben Highmore – Writer, Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Sussex, and author of 'Culture (Key Ideas in Media and Cultural Studies)' and 'The Great Indoors: At Home in the Modern British House' Penny Sparke – Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director, Modern Interiors Research Centre, Kingston University Joe Kerr (chair) – Architectural historian, Co-editor of 'London: From Punk to Blair' and an occasional bus driver at Tottenham garage

The Vietnamese practice Vo Trong Nghia aims to create a green architecture for today's world. They boast a series of award-winning projects with an innovative capacity to integrate inexpensive, local materials with contemporary aesthetics and a high level of social and ecological awareness. Vo Trong Nghia has become a leading proponent of using bamboo as a building material, proclaiming it will “…become the ‘green steel’ of the 21st century.”

Listen to legendary photographer and filmmaker David Bailey in conversation with the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow, discussing his influential work and innovative portrait photographs from the last 60 years. With a career spanning over half a century, David Bailey is one of the world’s most celebrated photographers. Discarding the rigid rules of a previous generation of portrait and fashion photographers, his work defined a new era and shaped the future of photography. In 1971, Bailey’s photos appeared in the landmark exhibition SNAP! at the National Portrait Gallery, a show of modern portraiture that also featured painted portraits by David Hockney RA. Bailey has since produced some of the most famous portrait photographs that have featured in major exhibitions and publications worldwide.

How have Britain’s post-war housing estates become a battleground of differing political and architectural ideologies? As increasing numbers of estates are threatened with redevelopment, this discussion considers the ideals that created them and the legacies they have today, as both places to live and as repositories of meaning and memory. Speakers: Jessie Brennan – Artist; author of Regeneration! Conversations, Drawings, Archives & Photographs from Robin Hood Gardens (2015) Mark Crinson – Professor of Architectural History, Birkbeck, University of London Kate Macintosh – Architect, formerly of the London Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, and East Sussex and Hampshire County Councils; designer of Dawson’s Heights, East Dulwich (1964–72) Dr Paul Watt – Reader in Urban Studies, Birkbeck, University of London Owen Hopkins – Architecture Programme Curator, Royal Academy (chair) You can also watch a video of this talk on YouTube at roy.ac/estates Listen to a related talk about the future of Britain's estates: roy.ac/future

Following a previous debate exploring the changing status of Britain’s post-war housing estates, this discussion looks at estate regeneration and the range of alternatives that exist to the growing threat of demolition. Speakers: Geraldine Dening – Architect and founder, Architects for Social Housing Adam Khan – Founder, Adam Khan Architects John Lewis – Executive Director Thamesmead, Peabody Sarah Wigglesworth – Architect, director of Sarah Wigglesworth Architects Oliver Wainwright – Architecture critic, The Guardian (chair) Listen to a related talk about Britain's forgotten housing estates: roy.ac/forgotten

Painter and writer Timothy Hyman RA and curator Roger Malbert discuss the artists who have chosen to pursue figurative painting over the last century. With the arrival of abstraction and movements such as Abstract Expressionism in the 20th century, people began to see figurative painting as outdated and at odds with the very concept of modern art. Discussing Hyman's new book 'The World New Made: Figurative Painting in the Twentieth Century', Hyman and Malbert highlight a range of Modernists who, despite their awareness of abstraction, chose to work in narrative and confessional modes. Works by often-marginalised artists such as Max Beckmann and Stanley Spencer, Marsden Hartley and Alice Neel, Charlotte Salomon and Henry Darger, express the possibility of a new kind of figuration, as well as a foundation for our questioning of formalist readings of 20th-century art.

Charles Holland and Elly Ward of Ordinary Architecture discuss the ideas that informed the 'Origins' project at the RA, and reflect on its implications for the ways architecture is typically created and understood. The distinguished architectural writer Joseph Rykwert and artist Kieren Reed both respond, before a panel discussion and questions from the audience. 'Origins' is a series of interventions which form an intriguing contemporary counterpoint to various ‘origin myths’ of architecture that have arisen over history. Realised through a number of techniques and materials, the interventions are grouped according to particular themes, which together pose a new set of origin myths for how architecture is both created and experienced.

Herwig Todts, Conservator of Modern Art at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, examines the eclectic nature of James Ensor's work and his creative process. The work of Ensor is so extremely varied that his oeuvre has been viewed by some as verging on incoherent. Ensor wrote many satirical texts, and through close analysis of these texts an explanation begins to emerge for this inconsistency: Ensor did it on purpose. He developed each of his artistic projects from a different starting point. Whether he was solving a stylistic problem or following a specific technique, the different artworks he produced as a result were impressively diverse.

Yinka Shonibare MBE RA and David Shrigley discuss new work, as well as their experiences of being commissioned to create pieces for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square with art critic and lecturer Gilda Williams. Both influential artists share a particular perspective on British humour and reflect on the impact on their respective practices of being commissioned to create art for the Fourth Plinth.

Academicians Basil Beattie, Mali Morris, Paul Huxley and Christopher Le Brun PRA discuss their personal responses to Abstract Expressionism and how the new approaches to composition, colour and scale influenced and impacted on the visual arts both then and now. Examining how artists and the arts world internationally responded to Abstract Expressionism, they consider the significance of this influential movement of the 20th century and why its impact still resounds today.

Christ & Gantenbein, designers of the recently opened Kunstmuseum in Basel and the extension to the Swiss National Museum in Zurich, come to the RA to discuss their acclaimed work.

Artists Vanessa Jackson RA and Clare Price, along with curator Gwen Chanzit from the Denver Art Museum, discuss the important female figures of Abstract Expressionism, and explore the relationship between artists and the gendered practice of abstract painting. Although their work has often been overlooked in favour of their male contemporaries, artists such as Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler were major players in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Gallerists Peggy Guggenheim and Betty Parsons also played an instrumental role in promoting Abstract Expressionism and establishing its position in the international art market.

What will be the implications of Brexit on London’s development and status as a global city over the next few decades? Can London remain a global city outside of the EU? Should it, if London’s success comes at the expense of the rest of the UK? Will London become less attractive to investment and if so, what will the effects be on development, especially with regard to housing? What opportunities does Brexit offer for remaking the relationship between London and the rest of the UK for the better? Our panel offers some answers. Panel includes: Iwona Blazwick – Director, Whitechapel Gallery Stella Creasy – Member of Parliament for Walthamstow Paul Finch – Programme Director, World Architecture Festival; columnist, Architects’ Journal Carol Patterson – Director, UK, OMA Tom Copley AM – Deputy Chair of the London Assembly Housing Committee; Member of the Planning and Transport Committees Ben Rogers – Director, Centre for London (chair)

Luc Tuymans discusses his distinguished career as a contemporary painter, as well as his curation of the James Ensor exhibition, with Senior Curator Adrian Locke. Since the late 1970s, Tuymans’s easily-recognisable, sparsely-coloured figurative canvases have redefined the traditional genres of the everyday and history painting. Drawing in part on influences which range from Flemish Old Master painting to the contemporary mass media, his works are almost always painted from pre-existing imagery and produced in distinct, thematic series.

A discussion between legendary jazz saxophonist Evan Parker and artist and musician David Ryan, exploring the connections between free improvisation in jazz and the Abstract Expressionism movement. The British jazz saxophone revolutionary Evan Parker transformed the language and techniques of the instrument in the late 1960s and has since become one of the world’s most admired and influential saxophone improvisers. Described by Stewart Lee as “the greatest living exponent of free improvisation”, his solo concerts radiate an energetic atmosphere, creating an intensely personal soundscape that both absorbs and mesmerises his audiences.

Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee are among the leading figures in a new generation of Los Angeles architects. Ranging from the private houses for which they are best known, to cultural projects such as the ongoing Drawing Institute at the Menil Collection in Houston (a commission won against a star-studded field), Johnston Marklee‘s buildings stand apart for their calmness, distilling the complexity of brief or site into a coherent formal purity.

Abstract Expressionism is considered one of the seminal movements in 20th century art. But to what extent do this generation of artists identify with the movement and its ideas? Artists Gabriel Hartley, Lisa Denyer and Selma Parlour explore their connection to Abstract Expressionism and examine the extent to which the spirit of the movement may be identified in the work of today’s young artists.

Senior Curator Adrian Locke introduces the RA's exhibition ‘Intrigue: James Ensor by Luc Tuymans’ and examines the life and work of this truly original artist. Though largely unknown in the UK, James Ensor is celebrated as one of Belgium’s most innovative artists, an enigmatic figure who rejected the academic training of his youth to cultivate his own individual style in the face of considerable opposition and hostile criticism.

Listen in on an exceptional evening of short stories with philosopher, author and academic A.C. Grayling. Presented in partnership with Pin Drop, a unique initiative that communicates the unforgettable power of storytelling.

In this talk, Professor Sarah Churchwell examines the social and cultural context that created this first truly American modernist movement and the beginning of New York City’s influence as the centre of the western art world. An unparalleled period in American art, the rise of Abstract Expressionism in America in the 1930s and 1940s reflected the broader cultural context of mid-20th-century America. Global economic, social and political developments impacted on the American, and in particular New York, art scene and led to the emergence of a movement that broke with conventions and brought American art to prominence worldwide.

How do we use writing to help us understand architecture and communicate our experience of it? Our panel discuss. With Professor Adrian Forty (The Bartlett), Dr. Kester Rattenbury (University of Westminster) and Professor Vyv Evans (Bangor University).

Looking beyond traditional notions of infrastructure, speakers put forward a range of propositions for ensuring London maintains its status as a global city over the next few decades.

Artist Tacita Dean discusses her work, including her 16mm film 'Portraits' with RA Artistic Director Tim Marlow.

Curator Edith Devaney introduces the ‘Abstract Expressionism’ exhibition and examines the key concepts behind this artistic phenomenon. From the moment that it first emerged in the late 1940s, Abstract Expressionism has been a subject of debate. Although perceived to be a unified movement, in reality it was a much more complex and fluid phenomenon. The Abstract Expressionists broke fresh ground with their attitudes towards scale, colour and composition. Artists like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning challenged accepted conventions to unleash a new confidence in painting.

Portraits: Tacita Dean RA in conversation with Tim Marlow by Royal Academy of Arts

International Architects Series: Heneghan Peng by Royal Academy of Arts

John Wardle, one of Australia’s leading architects, explores the ways his buildings weave together landscape, history, memory and materials.

Floating Ideas: Plug-In To Housing by Royal Academy of Arts

Floating Ideas: Architecture On The Edge by Royal Academy of Arts

As a tribute to John Partridge RA, who passed away this summer aged 91, we present this podcast from our archive, in which the architect is in conversation with Elain Harwood, senior architectural investigator for Historic England. Photo: Dennis Toff

A portrait can be defined as an artistic representation of a person, with an intent to display their likeness, personality and even their mood. But who determines what we really see? As a collaboration between subject and artist, to what extent do they each influence our perception of the person who is being presented? Portrait artists James Lloyd and Daphne Todd, and philosopher Nigel Warburton discuss the roles of the subject, artist and viewer in how we understand a portrait. This event is chaired by writer and broadcaster Charlotte Mullins. Image caption: 'Dame Maggie Smith' (detail), James Lloyd. 'Lord Armstrong in blue' (detail), Daphne Todd

Curator Edith Devaney introduces David Hockney’s portrait exhibition, giving an insight into this remarkable series of work and Hockney’s relationship with portraiture as well as her experiences of being one of Hockney’s subjects.

While many contemporary portraits demonstrate a respect for the traditions of portraiture, others are places for experimentation and play, employing various media and different approaches to depiction. Writer and curator Sandy Nairne, former director of the National Portrait Gallery, explores developments in contemporary portraiture, and examines how this well-established genre within Western art has been used by artists such as Hockney to innovate.

Discover the origins, characters, behind-the-scene stories as well as the experiences of visitors and artists in the history of the RA Summer Exhibition, the world’s largest open submission of contemporary arts, with the RA Senior Curator of Collections Helen Valentine. Image caption: The 163rd Summer Exhibition, 1931: Sending In Day and works of art are being moved into the Academy for selection. / Unidentified photographer working for Sport and General Press Agency Photo credit: © Royal Academy of Arts, London

Richard Wilson RA is internationally celebrated for his interventions in architectural space which draw heavily for their inspiration from the worlds of engineering and construction. He is best known for his provoking and playful installations, such as 20:50, a sea of reflective sump oil which is permanently installed in the Saatchi Collection. Here, the artist discusses his celebrated career with Tim Marlow and some of his ideas behind the coordination of this year’s Summer Exhibition. Photo: Harry Borden

When Ron Husband started to forget things - dates, names, appointments … daft things, important things - it took a while to realise that this was ‘a different form of forgetting’. But it was just the first sign of the illness that gradually took him away from the family he loved. In support of Dementia Awareness Week Tony Husband talks about his work as a cartoonist and his inspiration and journey through creating the book 'Take Care, Son: The Story of My Dad and Dementia', a touching illustrated story framed as a chat between Tony and his dad.

Critically-acclaimed British actress Juliet Stevenson reads this year’s winning story of the RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. With this special literary award, the RA and Pin Drop offer a unique platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short stories. Photo: Portrait of Juliet Stevenson, courtesy of Pin Drop

Giorgione was one of the greatest artists who ever lived, yet it is difficult to establish exactly what he painted. Art historian Professor David Ekserdjian examines in detail the works by Giorgione as well as the artistic influence of this enigmatic master.

“That fair face will as years roll on lose its beauty, and old age will bring its wrinkle to the brow” - Ovid Beauty is habitually associated with youth, especially for women, and artistic portrayals of age and ageing have long been a contentious issue in our society. Painted during his all-too-brief artistic career, Giorgione’s La Vecchia is a rare example of a realistic portrayal of an elderly woman in the early 16th century, a period in which portraits of young, idealised ‘beauties’ were more often celebrated. In her hands, the woman holds a scrap of paper inscribed with the words ‘With Time’, referencing the passage of time and a reminder that we all shall age. Using La Vecchia as a starting point, our panel will explore the depiction of ageing in art in conjunction with wider societal considerations of age and beauty.

Though Giovanni Bellini was still the leading artist in Venice at the turn of the 16th century, a younger generation, including Giorgione and Titian, started to emerge from his shadow. Their innovations, combined with the influence of visitors such as Albrecht Dürer and Leonardo da Vinci, ushered in a new dawn of Venetian art. One of the first artists to arise was also the most mysterious: little is known about Giorgione’s life, and few works can be definitively attributed to him, yet the elusive poetic quality of his work is so powerful that, despite his early death, his legacy was profoundly felt in Venice and beyond. In this podcast, curator Per Rumberg explores the idealised beauty, expressive force and sensuous use of colour that became the hallmark of Venetian Renaissance painting.

Meet Monet protecting his peonies with straw, Caillebotte inspecting orchids in his hot-house, Liebermann planning his Wannsee rose-bower, and Matisse thumbing the latest seed catalogues, in this podcast by Clare A.P. Willsdon, Professor of the History of Western Art at the University of Glasgow. Image caption: video still of the dahlias in Emil Nolde's garden © Royal Academy of Arts

From the 1890s until his death in 1926, Monet created over 500 paintings of his private paradise at Giverny. In this talk, Dr Eric Haskell (Scripps College, Claremont University Centre, California) places the Giverny period within the context of the painter’s phenomenal trajectory, then examines how Monet moved beyond representation to abstraction and thus prefigured the Modern aesthetic in the most subtle of terms. In this podcast, Dr Eric Haskell highlights the relationship between Claude Monet’s gardening aesthetic and painterly techniques as he practised and perfected them in his iconic garden at Giverny. Photo courtesy of Eric Haskell

Claude Monet lived at Giverny for 43 years, from 1883 to his death in 1926. A passionate horticulturalist, his garden became a work of art as well as a subject for his paintings. From the Iris garden to his huge waterlily canvases, the garden at Giverny was the focus for some of Monet’s greatest works of art. In this podcast, James Priest, head gardener at Giverny, is in conversation with garden designer and writer James Alexander-Sinclair, discusses Monet’s cultivation of and relationship with the garden that inspired some of his most famous paintings. Image caption: video still Monet's garden at Giverny © Royal Academy of Arts

In conjunction with Historic England’s exhibition Out There: Our Post-War Public Art (2 February – 10 April 2016), which explores the connections between public art and architecture in the post-war decades, this podcast looks at the future of public of art in Britain. What are the ideals and motivations behind the creation of public art? What are its uses? How can we protect public art threatened by redevelopment? Should we be doing so? What, ultimately, does public art say about us as a society? Image caption: Sculpture by Henry Moore in the Brandon Estate, London / Photo © Owen Hopkins

Sean Griffiths, co-founder of FAT, one of the architects featured in Mavericks, chairs this discussion exploring the different perspectives artists can bring to the making of architecture. Architecture is no longer solely the domain of architects, but of artists too. Recent years have seen the work of a number of different artists cross into what we usually class as architecture, in some instances as far as whole buildings. Whether working on their own or in collaboration with architects, as is also increasingly common, artists bring a very different way of thinking about both the meaning and function of buildings and space. Image caption: A House for Essex by FAT and Grayson Perry RA for Living Architecture (2014) / Photo courtesy of Living Architecture / Jack Hobhouse

In this debate about architectural education and opportunities for young architects, our panel explore if there is any future for mavericks in architecture. What marks out mavericks from other architects is the way they embrace risk – whether professionally, by striking out on their own, or creatively, by refusing to conform to the norms of architectural taste or convention. Recent years, however, have seen the risks for young architects grow considerably. Seven years’ training leaves most architects beginning their careers saddled with tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt, putting pressure on even the best young creative minds to conform. At the same time, as land prices skyrocket developers are becoming more and more risk-averse and less willing to roll the dice and embrace unorthodox or original approaches. Engineering block at University of Leicester, 2010 © John Robertson / Alamy Stock Photo

Beginning with an introduction by Owen Hopkins, curator of Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture, a panel debates the role of mavericks in architecture past and present. What makes an architect a maverick? What uses do mavericks and maverick positions have? How has the meaning of maverick evolved over history? What, above all, does it mean to be a maverick architect in today’s world of parametric design and building information modelling? Speakers: Charles Holland – Director, Ordinary Architecture; co-founder, FAT Owen Hopkins – Architecture Programme Curator, Royal Academy Maria Smith – Director and Co-Founder, Interrobang; former director, Studio Weave Catherine Slessor – writer and critic; former editor, The Architectural Review Sean Griffiths – Professor of Architecture, University of Westminster; co-founder, FAT Image caption: A House for Essex by FAT and Grayson Perry RA for Living Architecture (2014) / Photo courtesy of Living Architecture / Jack Hobhouse

One year on from a major season on the ‘Future of Housing’ in the UK, we look again at this ever more urgent question. In the lead up to last year’s General Election, the RA organised the Future of Housing season, which looked with a critical eye at the various possible futures for housing in the UK. One year on, we survey the changed political landscape, and a housing crisis that, if anything, has only intensified. As the Housing Bill, which notably extends the right to buy to housing association tenants as well as putting a new focus on starter homes, passes through Parliament, our panel consider the challenges and possibilities that have emerged both independently and as a result. Speakers: Jack Self – writer and co-curator British Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 Paul Karakusevic – Partner, Karakusevic Carson Architects Claire Bennie – architect and development consultant; former Development Director, Peabody Richard Blyth – Head of Policy, Royal Town Planning Institute Jane Dudman – Editor, Housing and Public Leaders Networks, The Guardian (chair) Photo: Houses, Robert Harding World Imagery / Alamy Stock Photo

The idea of a maverick in architecture – and arguably in art, literature and even science – is inextricably associated with the myth of the creative genius. From perhaps Leonardo da Vinci onwards, creative genius has been popularly associated with disregard for social conventions, isolation, and of the individual overcoming adversity – traits that are often understood in masculine terms. In architecture, the creative genius trope has helped give rise to the ‘starchitect’, the name given to an almost exclusively male group of celebrity architects, whose work is defined by its avant-gardist novelty, and signature, iconic forms. As the gravitational pull of the ‘starchitect’ consumes media attention with ever increasing ferocity, our panel discusses its distorting effects and explores what might lie beyond it. To what degree is the ’starchitect’ a creation of the media? In what ways does the ‘starchitect’ system act to exclude women, if indeed it does? How might we begin to celebrate architectural achievements without perpetuating the myth of the ‘starchitect’? What, in short, might life be like after the age of ‘starchitects’ and how might it be reached? Speakers: Karen Cook – founding partner, PLP; former partner, KPF Owen Hopkins – Architecture Programme Curator, Royal Academy of Arts (chair) Hana Loftus – founder, HAT Projects Catherine Pease – founder, vPPR Vicky Richardson – Director, Architecture Design Fashion, British Council Image caption: Fred May, 'Caricature of dinner at RIBA (detail)'. Original drawings from “The Tatler” sketch 22 Feb 1939. Pencil & wash with white highlights on Card/board. 555 x 405mm. © RIBA Collections, London.

Orange Prize-winning novelist Lionel Shriver treats us to a short story reading. Shriver ('We Need to Talk about Kevin' and 'Big Brother') reads her short story 'Vermin'. On performing her short stories Shriver says: “When it works I like [the works] better. I like being able to deliver a line well… It’s nice to be able to deliver passages in the spirit that I wrote them, so that you can hear them as I hear them.” In partnership with Pin Drop.

This panel event explored the current state and future potential of contemporary urban gardening. Chaired by journalist and horticulturist Alys Fowler, the subversive and exciting work of guerrilla gardener and author Richard Reynolds, forager John Rensten and artist Wendy Shillam are brought to the table. Image caption: video still of the dahlias in Emil Nolde's garden © Royal Academy of Arts

Monet and his fellow artist-gardeners applied their artistic eye to the composition of their gardens, using nature’s palette of flowers and foliage to create horticultural works of art. In this event, we consider how the artistic principles behind the use of colour and composition can be applied to planting and landscaping to transform garden design, creating harmony or contrast, and evoking different moods and a sense of space. Garden designers Dan Pearson, Tom Stuart-Smith and Sarah Price, and artist Stephen Chambers RA explore how colour is used in modern garden design, in a panel discussion led by critic and historian Tim Richardson. Image caption: video still of the dahlias in Emil Nolde's garden © Royal Academy of Arts

Claude Monet’s artistic and horticultural achievement at Giverny was not unique. Other contemporary artists sought similar fusions between garden design and art. In this talk, MaryAnne Stevens touches upon artists’ gardens in Spain, Germany and Denmark, concluding with one in Norway which sought to provide artistic motifs as well as to fulfil economic, ecological and national ideals. Art historian and curator MaryAnne Stevens discusses the role that the gardens created by artists such as Sorolla, Liebermann, Tuxen and Astrup, played in their search for new modes of artistic expression. Image caption: video still of the dahlias in Emil Nolde's garden © Royal Academy of Arts

Exhibition curator Ann Dumas examines the different ways that artists ranging from Claude Monet to Henri Matisse painted the garden in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Image caption: video still of the dahlias in Emil Nolde's garden © Royal Academy of Arts

Is the gender of an artist significant in the creative process? Does being a female artist influence how a work is created and perceived? How significant is ‘the female gaze’ in contemporary art – work that is presented from a female perspective or reflecting female attitudes. As part of our International Women’s Day 2016 celebrations, a panel of artists discussed what it means to create work from a female perspective in today’s contemporary art world. In this podcast, Eva Rothschild RA, Vanessa Jackson RA and Josie Cockram discuss these issues and the extent to which being a female artist has influenced their work. The event was chaired by Hilary Robinson, Professor of Visual Culture at Middlesex University and editor of 'Feminism-Art-Theory 1968-2014'.

The RA and Pin Drop welcomed Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri for an evening of short fiction and storytelling, inspired by the exhibition ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’. Ben Okri has published eight novels, including The Famished Road and Starbook, as well as collections of poetry, short stories and essays. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been awarded an OBE as well as numerous international prizes, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Africa, the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction and the Chianti Rufino-Antico Fattore.

In the final lecture of the series, Farshid Moussavi discusses architecture’s function as an agent in shaping everyday life. For Moussavi, architecture “produces platforms for the way people engage with uses of buildings” – an idea which she has explored through practice, education and research. A co-founder of Foreign Office Architects, which won international attention with the Yokohama Ferry Terminal, Moussavi established her own practice in 2011, which has since completed the acclaimed Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art in Ohio. Moussavi is Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and has published a number of books deriving from her research and teaching. Image caption: Farshid Moussavi RA © Dan Stevens

Spaces of freedom are typically seen as synonymous with public space, where freedom of assembly and expression are inherent rights. Increasingly, though, public space, especially in cities, is being eroded by private, often commercially driven forces. At the same time, we have seen the rise of the digital realm heralded as a new free and democratic space for self-expression and debate. This, however, is also under attack through both corporate and state-sponsored surveillance and data collection. While services on the Internet are “free” to use, the business models that sustain them depend on the collecting and commercialisation of our every digital interaction. Image caption: Granary Square, Kings Cross © Monica Wells/Alamy

In this podcast, Reiner de Graaf reflects on architecture’s different roles in today’s globalised world. An architect, academic and writer, de Graaf is a partner of OMA and director of AMO, the practice’s think tank and research studio based in Rotterdam. AMO’s work extends beyond architecture to encompass media, politics, sociology, renewable energy, technology, fashion, curating, publishing, and graphic design. In addition to his work for AMO, De Graaf is responsible for a number of the OMA’s building and master-planning projects in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. In this lecture, de Graaf considers architecture’s social, economic and political role in today’s globalised world. Image caption: Reinier de Graaf © Ekaterina Izmestieva/ Strelka Institute

In this podcast, our expert panel consider what architecture’s responsibilities should be to the public good and whether it is time for architects to adopt a new code of ethics. Today with architecture in thrall to private interests to a greater degree than perhaps ever before, it is time to reassess architects’ responsibilities beyond those to the client, and to the broader public good. Do architecture and architects require a new code of ethics? If so, what should be the parameters and who should decide them? Speakers include Jane Hall, founding member of Turner prize-winning Assemble and Christine Murray, editor of Architectural Review (chair). Image caption: Tower construction © Artur Bogacki/Alamy

Architect and theorist, Patrik Schumacher, considers the various parameters for architectural practice today. One of architecture’s foremost designers and polemicists, Schumacher is a director of Zaha Hadid Architects, which he joined in 1988, and is involved in all the practice’s projects, playing an active role in each phase of design development. He has taught at architecture schools across the world and has been co-director of the Design Research Laboratory at the Architectural Association since 1996. His writings have frequently appeared in print and across the media. In this lecture, Schumacher reflects on the range of issues and agendas that “burden” architecture in the twenty-first century. Image caption: Patrik Schumacher / Courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

The work of the German architect Jürgen Mayer H stands at the intersection of architecture, design and digital technology. His practice operates across scale and typology: from master-planning to buildings, product design to art. For Mayer, emerging media and materials allow a fundamental rethinking of how we understand space and the potential for new forms of human activity and communication. Mayer kicked off the season with a discussion of his work and its reflection on the potential for architecture to act as a conduit for freedom through participation and social interactivity. Image caption: Jürgen Mayer H © Joseph Wolfgang Ohlert

When Liotard travelled to London, his reputation was at its summit. This podcast, with curator William Hauptman, examines Liotard’s astonishing portrait work while there, his impact on the London art scene and his connections with the Royal Academy between 1773 and 1774.

In this podcast, Tate conservator Rosie Freemantle and conservation curator Jo Crook discuss the development of the medium of pastel in the 18th century.

In this podcast, curator MaryAnne Stevens gives an introduction to the work of the artist Jean-Etienne Liotard. Travelling across Europe to Constantinople, patronised by rulers, aristocrats and the professional middle class, Liotard was internationally acclaimed for his mastery of pastel and his unflinching observation of reality, which he brought to his portraits, genre scenes and exceptional trompe l’oeil compositions.

Architect Chris Wilkinson RA and painter Humphrey Ocean RA discuss what it is to draw, and why the process is central to their work.

Ai Weiwei has used and reused a wide range of materials throughout his career, including Han dynasty urns as well as modern porcelain sunflower seeds, and the columns of demolished Ming temples alongside pearls and plastics, marble and gilding. In this podcast, Craig Clunas, Professor of Art History at the University of Oxford, explores this materiality in the context of Chinese art of the past and present.

In this podcast, curator Philip Tinari and architects Daniel Rosbottom and Simon Hartmann explore Ai Weiwei’s architectural practice. Architecture is an important but perhaps lesser-known aspect of Ai Weiwei’s practice. Along with a huge number of buildings realised over a decade with his studio FAKE design and in collaboration with international architects, architectural thinking permeates his art, writing and curatorial practice.

In this discussion, artists Christian Marclay and Cornelia Parker RA – with historians Professor Dario Gamboni and Dr Ros Holmes – discuss the impact of the “readymade” and the destructive process in art, as seen in the work of Ai Weiwei. Many of the strategies that Ai Weiwei employs as an artist can be easily aligned within the legacy of iconoclasm and the notion of art under attack. Works such as Dropping a Han-Dynasty Urn (pictured below), Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo and Kippe all possess an action or process by the artist which subverts the original visual representation and meaning of an object.

In this introductory podcast, exhibition curator Adrian Locke explains how Ai Weiwei, since his return to China in 1993, uses his art, not just his words or cyberspace to comment on contemporary Chinese society today. Locke also explores the meanings and stories behind his materials and methodologies, including his use of found rebars (steel rods used to hold buildings upright) in the deeply moving installation Straight.

Will Self is the author of ten novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and five collections of non-fiction writing. His latest novel, Umbrella, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and was described by The Daily Telegraph as, “Self’s most ambitious novel to date”. He regularly appears on television and is a frequent contributor to publications including The Guardian, The New York Times and the London Review of Books. Self also writes columns for New Statesman, The Observer and The Times. In this podcast – in association with Pin Drop – Self reads his own short story, The Shore. Photo: Roy Matthews

Joseph Cornell is one of the most famous yet mystifying characters in modern American art. Cornell scholar Lynda Roscoe Hartigan explores what recent studies in creativity and cognition have contributed to understanding his distinctive constructions, collages and films.

Kentridge’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the world and appeared in this year’s Summer Exhibition at the RA, where the Small Weston Room was dedicated to a display of his ink drawings and prints of indigenous South African trees. In this podcast, the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow talks to the recently elected Honorary Royal Academician about his diverse artistic practice, which encompasses films, drawings, theatre and opera productions.

Joseph Cornell has often been referred to as an ‘outsider’ but he was accepted into the art market as a partial Surrealist at a time when the art of the self-taught had no name or definition. If he had been defined as an outsider, would he have had difficulty being accepted into the canon of 20th century art history? How would this definition change our approach to the display, interpretation and market for his work? This panel discussion considers what the new spaces are for outsider art and what the responsibilities are for those involved in the interpretation, collection, curation and sale of these works within the context of today’s art world.

A short story reading by Graham Swift, the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Waterland’ and ‘Last Orders'. In partnership with Pin Drop, a unique initiative that communicates the unforgettable power of storytelling in inspiring settings. Image caption: Graham Swift / Image courtesy Simon + Schuster

American assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) has been described as one of modern art’s best-kept secrets. In this podcast, join RA curator Sarah Lea to explore the life and work of this enigmatic artist, including a biographical overview, a discussion of Cornell’s working processes and a detailed look at the key collages, box constructions and films presented in the exhibition. The curator considers in particular Cornell’s interest in fields as diverse as natural history to ballet, which fed his long distance love affair with Europe, a place he visited only in his imagination.

Art historian Professor Dawn Ades discusses Joseph Cornell’s relationship with Surrealism – one of the most influential movements of the 20th century – and explains how the collages of Max Ernst influenced him to find his own voice in the assemblage of diverse materials, found objects and images, which prompted a plethora of imaginative and imaginary narratives and associations. Ades also compares the constructions by Cornell that contain kinetic elements with other works by Surrealist artists that incorporate movement, and therefore the notion of duration. Duration is one aspect of our experience of time. Considering his sand fountains, collage-books and other unclassifiable constructions, this talk will address Cornell’s preoccupation with the workings of time as a fundamental theme in his work.

Internationally esteemed novelist Tim Winton reads from his collection of short stories ‘The Turning’. Image caption: Tim Winton, Photo: Hank Kordas.

Peter Blake is recognised as one of the founders of British Pop Art and today continues to make work that spans media including collage, sculpture, printmaking, as well as commercial art in the form of graphics and, notably, album covers. He was recently included in the Barbican’s exhibition 'Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector' and has created an artistic style that undoubtedly parallels Joseph Cornell’s own. During this event we find out why Cornell’s work has made such an impact on Blake’s own approach to art and what motivated him to create a series of direct homages to work by Joseph Cornell.

The RA hosted the inaugural RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. Here, Stephen Fry reads a story of youthful first love. Bethan Roberts’s short story, Ms. Featherstone and The Beast, was voted unanimously by the judges as the winner of the inaugural RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award. The panel included Pin Drop co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

Royal Academician Conrad Shawcross is joined by writer and Coordinating Chaplain at Nottingham Trent University, Revd Dr Richard Davey, to discuss his courtyard installation for the Summer Exhibition 2015, and the way in which his sculptures explore geometry, philosophy, physics and metaphysics.

Michael Craig-Martin’s life has been as colourful and varied as his distinctive work. He has enjoyed international success with major exhibitions around the world, high-profile commissions and numerous honours. In this event, the RA’s Artistic Director Tim Marlow joined Craig-Martin to discuss what it takes to coordinate the RA’s Summer Exhibition and to consider the development of his career and the evolution of the art world over the last half century.

In this conversation, Eileen Cooper RA explains the role of drawing in her work and how her engagement with materials provides a direct channel to her imagination. The discussion is in conjunction with her retrospective, 'Hide and Seek', which showcases drawings through 40 years of her career. Cooper explains that, as a young artist, it was the fluidity and liberation of the line that helped build her confidence during her training. “Art is the way in which I understand the world,” she says.

Coinciding with the publication of Catherine Lampert’s ‘Frank Auerbach: Speaking and Painting’, Tim Marlow talks to the painter. In a conversation that spans the artist’s relentless work ethic, his thoughts on John Constable and his relationship with Lucian Freud, Auerbach offers a window into his studio and practice. Honest and uncompromising, he reveals himself as intensely self-critical, trying not to look back, forever running to keep up with what he calls painting’s “inner engine”.

One of Mexico’s leading architects, Tatiana Bilbao creates buildings of powerful geometry, which connect to their sites and users on both material and emotional levels. In her lecture, Bilbao discusses a number of recent housing projects and explores the ways her architecture weaves together people and place – whether in the house she designed for Mexican artist, Gabriel Orozco, or in social housing projects for the Mexican government. Image caption: Tatiana Bilbao / Photo © Adam Wiseman

Dutch practice MVRDV – of which Maas is the “M” – has an international reputation for its consistently innovative and visually striking architecture. In this talk, founder Winy Maas discusses the practice’s work, focusing on their numerous housing projects, which include the recently completed Markthal in Rotterdam. He also teaches at a number of universities across the world and is director of the Why Factory, a research institute for the future city which he founded in 2008. Maas challenges us to “escape from some of the hermeticism” that our national housing crisis is facing. His attack comes on three fronts: from architecture, to urbanism, to research. A lively and witty speaker, Maas shares entertaining personal stories as he tackles the very serious problem of the future of housing. Photo: Winy Maas © Boudewijn Bollmann

As a subject of political debate, the future of housing refuses to be sidelined. Due to spiralling prices, a significant amount of our young population look forward to a lifetime of renting, while the wealthy buy property for financial investment, rather than actual living. Leaving theory behind, this talk is firmly on the side of reality and touches on recent events involving activist demonstrations, occupations and police evictions. How might our country find new models of ownership that better reflect the changing realities of how people live today? Our panel, which includes two journalists, a policy expert, an artist and a professor, introduces this polarising topic. Photo: Houses for sale © John Sturrock / Alamy

Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis, which despite being recognised by politicians from all sides shows no sign of abating. In this event, a panel of speakers explores the costs of the current housing crisis, assessing their nature and implications – whether social, economic, psychological or environmental. Photo: Elephant and Castle, London © Guy Corbishley / Alamy

There is no single recipe for good housing – and the very definition of "good" is hotly debated. But the upsides of good housing, however we define it, are indisputable. In this event, a range of speakers examine the characteristics of places where people enjoy living and communities thrive, and discuss whether these can be applied in the future. Photo: Byker Wall, Newcastle upon Tyne © Islandstock / Alamy

As prices soar and cities become ever more prone to densification, the major political parties all agree on the need to build more homes, but where? Garden cities? Loosen the green belt? How can we plan for new housing in a way that’s able to withstand vested interests whilst remaining democratically accountable? This is an issue concerning the whole nation, with “passions involved” on both a local and personal level. With a panel including a surveyor, an academic, an urban design expert and the head of a charity, this talk tackles the issue of where to build new housing. Photo: Terrace houses © A.P.S. (UK) / Alamy

Part of our Forgotten Masters series, and in association with Docomomo, this talk addresses the life of architect Jean Tschumi. Together with academic and writer Jacques Gubler, architect Bernard Tschumi discusses the work of his father, the first president of the UIA and the founding head of Switzerland’s French-speaking School of Architecture at Lausanne. Image caption: Aula des Cèdres, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1962 by Jean Tschumi Photo © Jean Tschumi Archives

Famous for his letter to Michael Gove, the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA talks about the value of art in the school curriculum and the importance of visual communication since the beginning of civilisation. Bob and Roberta Smith RA founded the Art Party in 2013, a non-political organisation established to defend creativity and arts education. In this talk, the artist discusses the human experience of “making you mark” and “having your mark reproduced”. He believes in the importance of “things being graphic” and is willing to fight for art’s survival in the world today.

Although housing is most people’s largest monthly outgoing, our relationship to where we live is much more than financial: it shapes our identity, our sense of belonging, our mental and even physical wellbeing. But to what extent is this relationship reflected in the new houses being built in Britain today? What impact do aesthetics, materials and quality of space have on how we relate to our homes? Our panel discusses a variety of propositions – some new, others well-established – for designing homes that we instinctively feel a connection to.

Richard Diebenkorn is regarded as one of the most significant artists in post-war America. His work captures a sense of the light and place in which he worked, of New Mexico and California, and reveals his mastery as a consummate colourist. In this lecture, curator Edith Devaney explores the life and work of Richard Diebenkorn and considers why this is the first UK exhibition of such a major artist in over 20 years.

At an event celebrating International Women’s Day 2015, a panel of female Academicians and students discuss how their individual experiences have shaped their understanding of the contested role of being a female artist in the 21st century.

How does artist Anselm Kiefer use mythology, history, literature, philosophy and science in his work? What meanings do lead, straw, fire, earth, and water hold for him? Exhibition curator Kathleen Soriano uncovers the artist’s world and considers his oeuvre. Soriano explores the meanings behind Kiefer’s complex, layered yet sublime paintings, sculpture and installations in this discussion, originally held at the RA as part of our exhibition programme.

Royal Academicians Cathie Pilkington, Eileen Cooper and Tess Jaray, and RA Schools student Gergana Georgieva, contemplate their own experiences of forging a career as a female artist in the 21st century.

The daughter of artist Richard Diebenkorn, Gretchen Diebenkorn Grant, speaks about the life and art of her father, giving an insight into his personality, career and the environment in which he produced his exceptional body of work.

Rubens, with his “audacious and fantastic palette”, provided an important model for the revolutions in mid-19th century French art. In this lecture, independent art historian and curator MaryAnne Stevens explores the impact of the great Flemish master’s colour and technique on Manet, and Impressionists such as Monet, Renoir and Cézanne.

In this lecture, Nico Van Hout explains why the caricature of Peter Paul Rubens as a painter of “fleshy, voluptuous women” is only part of the story, focusing in particular on Rubens’s influence on Rembrandt and Jean-Antoine Watteau.

David Hills of architectural practice DSDHA discusses with artist and author Edmund de Waal the stunning studio they recently designed for him in south London as a creative backdrop to his evolving work. The studio is the result of a long-running conversation between architect and artist, which includes earlier collaborations on de Waal’s previous studio in Tulse Hill and other architectural commissions.

Award-winning and best-selling novelist Sebastian Faulks CBE reads a short story selected in response to ‘Rubens and His Legacy: Van Dyck to Cézanne’. In association with Pin Drop. Image caption: Sebastian Faulks / Photo: Muir Vidler

“Now, the idea is to get everything right – it’s not just color or form or space or line – it’s everything all at once.” Richard Diebenkorn Whether landscape or abstract canvas, the work of American artist Richard Diebenkorn captures a sense of the light and place in which he worked, and reveals his mastery as a consummate colourist. The palette and pentimenti of his works are at once quiet and uproarious, subtle and unrestrained. Curator Sarah C. Bancroft explores Richard Diebenkorn’s consuming attention to detail and improvisational process that led to his magnificent compositions. Image caption: Sarah C. Bancroft standing in front of the Richard Diebenkorn painting 'Ocean Park #117' (1979) / Art work © 2015 the Estate of Richard Diebenkorn. Photo courtesy of Sarah C. Bancroft

“Chair and similar sculptures by Allen Jones attracted controversy for different reasons, but questions about their relationship to pornography were persistent.” (Stacy Boldrick) Boldrick, curator of Tate Britain’s exhibition ‘Art Under Attack: Histories of British Iconoclasm’, chairs this debate, which discusses reactions to Chair then and now. Invited speakers include conservator Lyndsey Morgan who worked on Chair after it was sabotaged with acid in 1986, fashion commentator and feminist Grace Woodward, and Edith Devaney, curator of ‘Allen Jones RA’ at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Curator Amanda Doran introduces the illustrator Charles Stewart (1915–2001), who was haunted by the Victorian novel 'Uncle Silas' for over 40 years.

Curator Arturo Galansino helps us to understand the influence Rubens had on his fellow artists, up to and including the 20th century.

The term ‘Rubenesque’ has defined the representation of the female figure in art since the Baroque period, but what role does visual art play now in creating and communicating body image? Feminist and academic Professor Germaine Greer joins sociologist and disability rights advocate Dr Tom Shakespeare and artist Grayson Perry RA to discuss the representation of the body in the visual arts and wider society. Professor Mary Beard, the RA’s Professor of Ancient Literature, chairs this panel. Watch the video of the event: http://bit.ly/1EYel5W

In collaboration with the Folio Society, novelists A. S. Byatt and Lawrence Norfolk venture together into Germany’s dark woods to discover witches, goblins, lost children and treasure.

Contemporary portrait painter Jonathan Yeo – best known for his portraits of celebrated figures in the arts and politics, including Damien Hirst, Dennis Hopper, Malala Yousafzai and Tony Blair – discusses Moroni's psychological realism in relation to his own work.

Panelists Christian Weikop, Lara Day and Andrew Renton reconsider Anselm Kiefer’s 1969 book ‘Heroic Symbols’ which documented a provocative performance art project known as ‘Occupations’.

Jonathan Jones of The Guardian explores the reasons why Giovanni Battista Moroni’s portrait ‘The Tailor’ is one of the greatest paintings in London.

Dr. Arturo Galansino, curator of 'Giovanni Battista Moroni', reveals the artistic qualities that separated Moroni from his contemporaries, and demonstrates why Moroni was the foremost portrait painter of his day.

Painter and Royal Academician Frank Bowling discusses his life and work with Mel Gooding (Art critic and author of the Royal Academy’s monograph on Frank Bowling) and Courtney J. Martin (Assistant Professor of History of Art & Architecture at Brown University and Specialist in 20th Century British Art).

In a discussion chaired by the RA’s Tim Marlow, Anselm Kiefer and David Chipperfield RA explore the ways in which art and architecture interact in Kiefer’s practice. Watch the video: http://bit.ly/1T3ToOQ

In 2014, the RA held a major retrospective of the works of German artist Anselm Kiefer, and a host of debates and lectures exploring his work. This panel discussion reconsiders Anselm Kiefer’s 1969 book ‘Heroic Symbols’, which documented his provocative performance art project known as ‘Occupations’. Panelists include art historians Christian Weikop, Lara Day and Andrew Renton.