On Thursday 16 November we were delighted to host the Private View for the RBSA Annual Exhibition 2023.
Opening the show was Sir John Crabtree, Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands and Chairman of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, and we were also delighted to welcome the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Chaman Lal.
Present at the Private View were a large number of RBSA Members, Associates and Graduate Artists, with the number of attendees far higher than in previous years. The evening was a fantastic opportunity for our artists to meet up and discuss their work, with some of them never having met each other before.
As the flagship exhibition for the RBSA, the Annual Exhibition showcases work from Members, Associates and Graduate Artists and is a wonderful reflection of the huge variety of artistic practices present in our membership. The exhibition’s history can be traced back to the very beginnings of the RBSA when, in 1814, 118 works from 38 artists were exhibited by the Birmingham Academy of Arts in their premises on Union Passage. Included in this year’s exhibition are over 200 works by 101 artists.
For the first time in recent history, the Annual Exhibition was accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring every artwork in the show. Not only is this a wonderful way for our artists to remember their inclusion in the exhibition, it is also a superb addition to the RBSA Archive and captures this moment in the history of the Society. Copies of the catalogue were presented to every exhibiting artist and they are also available to purchase in the Gallery Shop.
Private Views are held for every RBSA exhibition and we welcome everyone who would like to attend, the next one will be on Thursday 11 January for the RBSA Friends Exhibition 2024.
