If you’re visiting the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition you MUST go through to the back of the building where they’re also hosting a parallel Young Artists’ Summer Show which, unlike the summer show, is completely FREE!
(To get there you either go in the main entrance, behind the stairs, downstairs into the underpass full of big naked statues, then up the stairs at the other side, through the room with a display about Swiss architecture to arrive at the cafe and shop area and turn right (or ask one of the many attendants); or from Piccadilly, stroll through Burlington Arcade, take a right and come to the back entrance.)
Tiger by Molly, age 4. “I learnt how to mix the colours orange and green using ink. I have painted a tiger with stripes in a garden. I really love the orange colour and the stripes on the tail.”
This is the fifth Young Artists Show and it’s brilliant. The curators have managed to pack 248 works into just one medium-sized gallery, but for some reason it doesn’t feel cramped – the opposite, it feels fun and light and open. More importantly, it has a strong claim to having more interesting, varied and successful pieces in one room than the grown-up Summer Exhibition has in 12.
In the adult show there are entire walls covered with still lifes of flowers or bowls of fruit, surely an exhausted subject in a tired medium. Molly’s painting of a tiger gave me more visual and psychological pleasure than all of them put together.
The works were made by students aged 4 to 19 from across the UK. The judges had to choose from more than 21,000 works submitted and used the criteria of original ideas and unique expressions, and were looking for the final selection to include a mix of media and broad representation across the UK.
The result is a joy to visit and look at. It is also by way of being a tribute to the commitment of teachers, parents and guardians who continue to champion the importance of art in the face of a philistine government (roughly speaking, all governments are philistine). Hats off to the teachers who supervised the creation of this wonderful tableau.
Fishing Boats on the Sea by Year 5 (age 8) at Blue Gate Fields Junior School. “We made ginger glazed boats on a paper sea inspired by The Great Wave wood block print by Hokusai Katsushika.”
The curators have a good summary of the point of art for young people, which I’ll share:
Making art enriches young people’s lives by developing a sense of free, flexible and independent thinking, skills that make us resilient to the challenges of an ever-changing world. Creating art helps us make sense of our lives. While looking at art enables us to understand the lived experiences of others.
I suspect all of these aspects are quite a bit more complicated/debatable than that, but it works as a motivator for schoolchildren.
Three joys
A lot of the works really are by very young children, aged 4, 5, 6 etc. Obviously they’re not professional standard but the curators have chosen well because lots and lots and lots of them are beautiful and charming and inspiring.
Dad With a Bread on His Head by Elfie, Age 4. “I wanted to draw a bread on Daddy’s head because I thought he’d look good like that.”
There is the touching, sweet feeling you get from seeing the gawky, naive works of little children. Somehow you can feel the love, the joy of creativity far more than you ever do with adult art works.
Last but not least, the (free) catalogue which accompanies the exhibition includes comments on the works, but not from curators weighed down by the same narrow range of artspeak and obsessions with gender and race. Instead they’re the words of the children themselves and these are not only beautifully straightforward and lovely, but they are surprisingly varied and insightful.
Curators use the same limited vocabulary and handful of ideas to describe all artworks in all adult exhibitions. The straightforward, artless enthusiasm of the children quoted here is worth going along to enjoy by itself. I realise that the texts have probably been heavily edited by parents and teachers to appear to best effect – but the freshness of the inspiration and the innocent enthusiasm still shines through.
My son particularly liked this brilliant sculpture of a marmoset and loved the artist’s explanation for making one, which begins: ‘I like marmosets’. Can’t say fairer than that.
Montgomery the Marmot by Grace, age 14. “I like marmots. I think that they are characterful. I wanted to reflect this quirkiness in Montgomery. He looks a little pensive, like he’s just finished performing on stage and is deep in thought.”
A personal selection
You can see all the works in the online gallery, which has nearly double the number presented in the gallery (478 online against 248 in the gallery), but I’m going to select a few pieces which really stood out for me.
Colour and pattern seemed to be used in a much more free and creative way than in the adult show.
Commentary of the Crown by Gabriel, age 14. “In 2022, the UK mourned the loss of Queen Elizabeth II and, in her place, King Charles III ascended the throne. It must be daunting to set aside his life’s work and passion, to take on the legacy left by his mother. I wanted to show how Charles III might feel in his mother’s shadow as well as some of the concerns and thoughts of the public.”
Charles has never looked cooler! And what is not to adore about this wonderfully vivid, dynamic, mixed media painting?
Escaping on Our Rainbow Zebra by Francesca and Olivia, age 8. “We are identical twins and painted this artwork together. In our picture, we are riding on our rainbow zebra through the night sky. We have put real diamond dust in the sky. We also used acrylic paint and cut paper to make a collage for the jungle. We were inspired by the book, The Zebra’s Great Escape. We love animals, especially zebras, and we wanted to create our own magical animal friend.”
Obviously the children will have had help from teachers and parents. But still, the level of achievement is awesome. Here’s a mock-up of the door of Number Ten Downing Street with the changing height of young Bea measured against the sequence of Conservative Prime Ministers.
Height of Politics by Bea, age 9. “By the time my mum was my age she’d only had two prime ministers. I am on my FIFTH! My cousin, who is only 3, has had more prime ministers than birthdays! My mum let me turn our old kitchen door into 10 Downing Street. Will I get to my 10th birthday before the next prime minister?! I did the papier-mâché head as a cross between a PM head and a cake – it’s a party head.”
There were lots of sculptures, from the big and complex to the simpler to really effective; from the Number Ten door, the flotilla of ceramic ducks and the wonderful model of a Tube station made of cardboard, to this bold and striking piece.
Boudica by Jacey, age 13. “I was inspired to create this sculpture after researching Boudica in art lessons at school. I wanted to portray her as a strong, powerful women. I enjoyed sculpting with wire as it was a new medium to me. I liked the way I could shape it to create curvaceous forms and expressive lines.”
I was staggered by the accomplishment of this self portrait, by someone who is 9 years old!
Demi by Demi, age 9. “This was a really quick self-portrait where I concentrated on a few colours, strong light and simple shapes in the background. I wanted to keep it fresh rather than too much detail.”
I was really struck by this array of decorated wooden cutlery. Surely this is full-on professional level work, both the idea and the implementation?
When I am bored… by Daniel, age 11. “My parents had banned me from computer games for a week and I was sitting in my room, bored. I saw some wooden cutlery lying around and started colouring it in. I realised how the individuality of the patterns in the cutlery showed how all people are different and unique. Then I realised how being bored had made me more creative.”
Along with the wonderful sculpture of ships on a wavey sea, this lovely patterning of ducks, waddling from one end of their big white plinth to the other, then swirling in circles, really defined the gallery space and gave it a lovely light and flowing energy.
Nice Weather for Ducks by Year 6 (10 to 11) at Heath Mount School
As the kids get older, the work gets more ‘sophisticated’ in a way. This is obviously a more gritty, realistic depiction of the London environment than the much younger children’s lovely visions.
Leytonstone Tube Station by Ben, age 17. “This is a sculpture of Leytonstone tube station in London, made from cardboard and acrylic paint. I chose to produce a piece based on the station because it has been the start of many journeys I have gone through in London and I have been through the building many times, often without recognising the architectural and artistic intrigue of it all. I can say that it succeeds in evoking my many fond memories of Leytonstone.”
Adolescence brings with it all kinds of problems and pleasures, and this is reflected in works with a completely different vibe from the innocent tigers and marmosets. I was really impressed by this drawing, simply using pencil on paper, but the product of intense focus and hours of work.
Shepherds Bush Road by Ruby, age 17. “This pencil drawing was inspired by the view from the 94 bus with my sister and her friend. I thought it could be interesting to combine the image of them and their phones and the urban background with the pencil medium.”
And I was moved by this piece, a vivid depiction of teenage loneliness.
Alien by Rowan, age 18. “As a transgender person, I am constantly exploring and evolving my identity but I know that society doesn’t see me as a person. Looking into the uncanny, I aimed to portray the trans experience of not being viewed as human.”
I so wanted to reach out and tell Rowan that: a) I for one view you as human. But also that b) the teenage years are difficult and often alienating for all types of people, not just trans or gay people. You’re not as alone and isolated as you think, and you will come through this horrible period stronger, more confident of who you are, able to laugh and enjoy life with the people who really love and care for you.
Summary
By now, hopefully you can see why I thought this one gallery contained more varied, more vivid and more enjoyable art than all 12 rooms of the Summer Exhibition. And it’s free! You really should go. It will make you smile for the rest of the day. Dad With A Bread On His Head. Genius!
Related links
- The Royal Academy Young Artists Summer Show continues at the Royal Academy until 13 August 2023
- All the works in the Young Artists’ Show online
- Young Artists Summer Show catalogue (PDF)
Books & Boots 