RBSA Members & Associates
Dating back to the early 1800s, the RBSA is one of the oldest art societies in the UK and officially formed as the Birmingham Society of Artists in 1821. It has a central governing body, the RBSA Council, and is made up of artists who are elected to be RBSA Members, Associates, and Honorary Members.
Every three years, early-career artists are also elected to be Graduate Artists as part of the RBSA’s career development programme.
Election Process
The RBSA (the Society) is an artist-led charity made up of a membership of approximately 200 artists with a wide variety of practices. The Society works to support artists and promote engagement with the visual arts.
To become a member of the Society it is necessary to be elected by the existing Members and Associates at an annual election held in Spring. The RBSA is one of the few Societies that owns its own gallery, giving the RBSA Membership excellent opportunities to show their work. All members pay an annual subscription, currently around £235, and there is a 50% discount for artists aged 35 years or under.
Note: If you are accepted as a Candidate for Associateship there is an admin fee of £60 to be paid prior to the Candidates Exhibition.
All Candidates must join the Society as an Associate before applying to become a full Member at least three years subsequent to this. There are two possible application paths which are outlined below.
RBSA Associate Membership
Candidates with existing links to current RBSA Members can be nominated for election by two full Members or, for those artists who have exhibited several times in RBSA Prize Exhibitions, via Self-Nomination.
There are two possible application paths which both consist of an online application form and the submission of six images showing work representative of their current practice. All potential Candidates should read and download the Associate Application Pack to understand the nature of the RBSA as an artist-led charity and the benefits and responsibilities of Associateship.
Note: The Society expects those contemplating nomination to have a substantial body of work already in their portfolio from which they can select work to be shown in the Candidates Exhibition.
RBSA Associate Nomination
Those Candidates who have two full Members (not Associates) to propose and second their Nomination, should apply via the Associate Nomination application form, link below. Candidates will need to have the agreement from their proposer and seconder as they will have to provide signatures confirming their nomination.
The application form includes a section that requires Candidates to list previous connections with the RBSA, indicating the exhibitions and events in which they have participated. This is important as the RBSA Council have indicated they are unlikely to approve a Nomination for Associateship unless an artist has some previous relationship with the Gallery. In this instance, the Council may decide to hold the Nomination over for a year to enable the Candidate to establish a record of exhibiting.
RBSA Associate Self-Nomination
To qualify for Self-Nomination, an artist must have had one work accepted in a minimum of three RBSA Open and/or Prize exhibitions over the previous six years. Exhibition acceptances for the Friends Exhibition or by organisations other than the RBSA do not count for this purpose. This is to demonstrate that Candidates are familiar with and have shown some commitment to the RBSA by submitting consistently high-quality work.
If this requirement is met, the artist should complete the Associate Self-Nomination application form, link below.
The RBSA President and a small group of senior members will evaluate all applications with the images. A decision on whether to accept each nomination will be made in February by the RBSA Council. There is no limit on the number of nominations approved by the Council. For those who are unsuccessful at self-nomination, the Council has decided that Candidates should not expect to receive any feedback. A further application for self-nomination cannot be submitted within three years.
RBSA Member Nomination
An artist applying to become a full Member must first be elected as an Associate. The RBSA Council has decided that they will not normally approve a nomination for Member unless the following criteria are met:
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The nomination is not made before the third anniversary of the Candidate being elected an Associate (eg for those elected at the 2023 AGM as Associates, they would be eligible for nomination for the elections in 2026).
- Nomination can be made with the support of two existing Members or by the process of self-nomination.
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The Candidate is able to demonstrate participation or some other contribution to the Society over the period of their Associateship.
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None of the six works shown in the Associates Candidates Exhibition may be shown in the Members Candidates Exhibition.
If these criteria are met, the Candidate should complete the appropriate application form, links below. Again there are two paths, nomination and self-nomination.
If elected as a Member, it is a requirement of the Society for the artist to donate a Diploma work to the Permanent Collection which must be representative of their current practice.
If you have any queries or questions, please contact the Gallery Director.