Royal Academy of Arts: 250th Anniversary

Earl of Courtown Excerpts

Wednesday 12th December 2018 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions. I too thank my noble friend Lord Cormack for securing this debate. It has been fascinating, with a journey through various Royal Academy exhibitions given by the noble Lord, Lord Jones, and my noble friend Lord Crathorne. We have been given a fascinating history of the early days of the Royal Academy from the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, who mentioned the connections with the Royal Household and beyond. I add that my ancestor was also Captain of the Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard just 60 years after the formation of the Royal Academy.

To answer the question from the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, while the Government do not directly have any plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Academy of Arts, I believe that it is right, as noble Lords have said, to recognise the academy’s outstanding work and the continuous contribution it has made to our national cultural landscape. Moreover, organisations that we at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport sponsor as arm’s-length bodies have made some impressive contributions to the celebrations. This year, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A have exhibited work alongside the Royal Academy.

The opportunity to celebrate 250 years of a cultural institution, as mentioned by all noble Lords, is a special one, and there are few that are older. It is unique, too, given the significant impact the Royal Academy has had on society, within both the artistic world and our wider culture. It is a feat for an institution such as the Royal Academy to endure two and a half centuries of change, to weather significant cultural shifts, and to retain and continue to build an engaged audience of art lovers.

Many noble Lords may be familiar with the original intentions of the Royal Academy—to form a society that promoted the art of design. In doing so, it is fair to say that the academicians became arbiters of artistic quality at the time. This is most recognisable through the inimitable summer exhibitions mentioned by many noble Lords, which continue to this day. It cannot be overstated how the Royal Academy influenced the academic practice of art through its school, but also pioneered the notion of public access to culture. But the Royal Academy’s role in the cultural canon has shifted considerably since 1768.

Artists and cultural innovators have always been at the forefront of significant societal change. Arts can offer comfort and bring people together at times of hardship, as noble Lords have said. The Royal Academy remained open throughout both World Wars, proving that art can continue to hold society up through times of adversity.

If we were able to ask the hundreds of thousands of artists who have submitted work for the open competition for the summer exhibition, I have no doubt that they would share with your Lordships a time in their childhood where their creativity was stoked. The Royal Academy’s families programme is a shining example of cultural education, with free events that bring children of all ages into the institution directly. It is vital to communicate that young people are not just welcome but belong in a building with such a rich but at times exclusive history. Now the Royal Academy opens its doors and urges children to explore the possibilities within. I cannot imagine the same approach in 1768, but our understanding of what public access means has transformed completely over 250 years, and so has the Royal Academy.

We must ensure that arts and culture are open to everybody. There are barriers, not just for young people but for a cross-section of society that may not recognise the arts as a place where they belong. This has to change. The Royal Academy’s work to address challenges to access and participation should be applauded. Its families programme also has workshops catering for children with special needs. This shows us that the arts can transform lives and bring new, challenging and exciting voices to society. The Royal Academy has done much in recent years to ensure that its buildings are accessible. Workshops and staff training to support audiences living with dementia are now common, as well as a fantastic arts programme that engages dementia suffers with visual art.

Importantly, as my noble friend Lord Cormack said, the Royal Academy is an independent, privately funded institution. As such, it has displayed financial resilience against challenges not untypical of those facing arts organisations, and this makes its longevity all the more inspiring. As the noble Lord, Lord Luce, said, we note the work of Sir Hugh Casson PRA, who founded the Friends of the Royal Academy membership scheme in 1977, an innovation that continues to this day with great success. The Government are committed to arts and culture and work with Arts Council England and our sponsored museums. Between 2015 and 2018 the Arts Council invested almost £1.1 billion of public money in the arts, alongside an estimated £700 million of lottery funding, while museums receive £800 million annually from public sources. By investing in arts and culture, we are supporting our communities, our creativity and also our economy.

To turn noble Lords’ attention away from London for a moment, the Government announced £8.5 million for Coventry’s plans to showcase the city as UK City of Culture in 2021. It aims to close the gap in access to high-quality arts and culture by reaching into areas with the lowest levels of opportunity.

While, as I have said, the Government do not directly fund the Royal Academy, we should not, as noble Lords have all said, overlook that its momentous redevelopment project was supported with £12.7 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. My noble friend Lord Ashton had the privilege of attending the opening, along with my honourable friend in the other place, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism. Indeed, Michael Ellis has a continuing interest in the Royal Academy and in particular enjoyed the Oceania exhibition mentioned by many noble Lords. Ministers have seen for themselves the increase in public space that will continue to provide free exhibitions for all to enjoy. It is my hope, and I am sure one that is shared by the Royal Academy, that this commitment to civic access continues for the next 250 years and beyond.

My noble friend raised a couple of points I want to cover. He brought up the subject of European students coming to Royal Academy schools post Brexit. I can reassure him that the Government will continue to encourage European students to apply for courses at UK postgraduate institutions because we want the best artists in the world to study in the United Kingdom. I look forward to the publication of the Government’s immigration White Paper in the near future. He also referred to the Heritage Lottery Fund catalyst scheme. I was pleased to see his reference to the £12.7 million that the Royal Academy received. Specific funding decisions made by the Heritage Lottery Fund are ultimately for its trustees not the Government, but I am sure we all agree that this was a wise funding decision. A number of noble Lords mentioned the Royal Academy schools. The Royal Academy schools have been at the heart of the Academy since its foundation. As noble Lords have said, today the schools offer the only free three-year postgraduate fine art course in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest art school in Britain and is regarded throughout the world as a centre of excellence. Past students, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, include William Blake, JMW Turner and, of course, John Constable.

This has been an excellent debate. I am afraid I have something to admit to—as the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, had to as well—I have never been to the Royal Academy. Perhaps we can go together. In closing, I would like to thank the Royal Academy for its contribution to life in this country, and I wish it much success in the future.