Design London, a joint project between Imperial College and the Royal College of Art that combines design and innovation knowledge, has announced that the next STIR Lecture is to be presented by Sir Christopher Frayling, Rector of the Royal College of Art. The lecture, entitled From Brunel to Wallace and Gromit: The Changing Face of the British Engineering Designer, will be delivered on Thursday, 11 December 2008, 7.30pm, at Imperial College London.

Much has been written and said about the public image of the engineer and the engineering designer in Britain: from the glory days of Brunel and the Victorian inventors to the lower esteem of contemporary practitioners in the modern era. In his first STIR Lecture, Sir Christopher will examine the changing public image of the engineer from a different perspective – that of popular film: from heroic modernists in the 1930s to Spitfire designers in the 1940s, to bridge-builders on the River Kwai in the 1950s, to Q branch in Whitehall in the 1960s, to Wallace and Gromit today.

For further information about the lecture and Sir Christopher Frayling click here.

This event is free, but space is limited, so please reserve your seat by completing your details using this link.

Venue:
Lecture Theatre 220
Mechanical Engineering
Imperial College London
Exhibition Road
South Kensington
London SW7 5BN

Directions and map can be found here.

Neo-narratives: RCA Professors Anthony Dunne, Head of Design Interactions and Nigel Coates, Head of Architecture in Discussion.

Most would agree that part of the function of design is to connect with the prevailing culture. But before this is possible sometimes the designer needs to build a story around ideas, and place the object in speculative context. Hence narrative has become an important tool for designers across a wide range of fields, and not just in terms of objects or buildings, but from entire city quarters to computer programmes. Narrative is a tool that familiarises the product and integrates it into our imagination. Nigel Coates and Tony Dunne, two of the RCA's  protagonists of narrative, apply it in very different ways. Dunne builds scenarios around how biogenetics may come to shape our lives in extraordinary and unexpected ways. Coates uses our inbuilt ability to combine diverse objects into complete scenarios, sometimes at the scale of the body and sometimes at the scale of the city.

Please note that due to unforseen circumstances this event has been cancelled. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Carnegie Art Award has been established to promote Nordic contemporary painting and to recognise and support distinguished artists born or living in the Nordic countries. The works have to be produced during the last two years, to capture the current state of Nordic contemporary painting. The 2008 exhibition consists of 65 works of art by 26 artists.

For further information visit: www.carnegieartaward.com.

RCA Secret, now in its 15th year is an annual contemporary art exhibition and fundraising sale consisting of around 2,500 original postcard-sized artworks. All made and donated by professional artists, designers and illustrators, plus up-and-coming graduates from the College. The cards are sold to the public at a one-day sale, with every postcard costing just £40, regardless of whether it has been made by a famous name or a young art student.

What’s the Secret?

Each postcard is signed on the back, so buyers do not know the identity of the artist until they have made their purchase. Postcards can only be bought on a first come, first served basis, with no sealed bids and cards cannot be reserved in advance. As in previous years all monies raised go to the RCA Fine Art Student Award Fund, which helps support emerging artists during their time at the College. For further details on how to register to become a buyer please visit www.rca.ac.uk/secret.

Viewing Days: 14 - 21 November
Sale day: 22 November

Man Group Charitable Trust is kindly sponsoring the Man Group Photography Prize at the RCA. This exhibition shows photographic work by 30 RCA alumni and students who are the finalists and winners of this year’s Prize.

Two very special events hosted by Architecture/RCA in October 2008

Firstly, on Tuesday 28 October come and meet the legendary and supremely influential architects from the US, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott-Brown. There will be a trailer screening for a forthcoming feature film about the architects’ lives and influences in architecture made by the couple’s son Jim. This will be followed by a discussion with Bob and Denise hosted by Professor Nigel Coates.

And on Thursday 30 October, kicking off this year’s lecture series Xperimenta, Aaron Betsky, Director of the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale will be in discussion with Ricky Burdett the 2006 Biennale Director. Betsky is a respected critic and curator of architecture and design. He directed the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam from 2001–06 and is the current director of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Burdett is Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at LSE. He was an influential figure in Ken Livingstone’s administration at the GLA and is currently Chief Adviser on Architecture and Urbanism for the Olympic Delivery Authority.

All talks take place in Lecture Theatre One, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, from 7pm.

Places are free but need to be booked in advance by calling 020 7590 4281 or emailing architecture@rca.ac.uk.

External Exhibition
Location: Sir John Soane's Museum, , 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP

The Royal College of Art presents an exhibition of new art in ceramics and glass at Sir John Soane’s Museum. Reflection brings together ten students from the Royal College of Art’s acclaimed Ceramics and Glass course and offers a rare opportunity to see the site-specific responses of an emerging generation of applied artists.

Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm. Free Admission.
General enquiries: +44 (0)20 7405 2107 or visit the Sir John Soane Museum website.

10 is a print exhibition to commemorate the retirement of Professor Chris Orr MBE who has been Head of the Printmaking course at the RCA for the last ten years. Featuring work by ten distinguished artists who have each been invited to make a limited edition original print especially for the event, the artists include Paula Rego, Michael Craig Martin, Tracey Emin, Norman Ackroyd and David Mach. Also on display will be prints by College staff who have worked alongside Professor Orr in the Printmaking department, and ten successful graduates of the course from the last decade. 10 offers an impressive span of artists working in a wide variety of styles and techniques used within printmaking today – from woodcuts and etchings to screenprints and virtuoso digital print. All work will be for sale. (Open on 26 October until 3pm.)

Sarah Moon has been making fantastical and unique images for over three decades. A model turned photographer, both her commercial and personal work have made her a Grande Dame of contemporary photography. Her photographs for fashion advertisements include Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. This major retrospective includes over 130 black-and-white photographs, 20–30 large-scale photographs and two film installations. This exhibition coincides with the launch of a book of Moon’s work published by Thames & Hudson and another show at the Michael Hoppen Gallery.

Vienna Café 1900 is an exhibition exploring the culture and design of the Viennese kaffeehaus at the turn of the last century and its influence on modern day café-culture. Visitors can explore the environment of the old Viennese coffeehouses through displays of historical photographs, graphics, film, sound and other ephemera. Alongside the exhibition will be a series of Viennese themed events including concerts, talks and film screenings taking place at the RCA, the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Royal Academy of Music. Viennese pastry and chocolate company Demel will run a café at the RCA during the exhibition. The exhibition is part of a three-year research project by the RCA History of Design department and Birkbeck, University of London.

For full event details visit: www.rca.ac.uk/viennacafe. 

Work-in-progress exhibition by second-year students from the Painting course before their final graduate show in June. Some work will be for sale or commission.

Tuesday 7 – Sunday 12 October 2008

As part of the London Design Festival InnovationRCA is presenting an exhibition of industry-funded projects from the RCA’s Helen Hamlyn Centre, demonstrating the role of evidence-based design in creating innovations for inclusivity, patient safety and the workplace. 

A symposium will take place on Thursday 18 September.
Further details can be found on the website.

Thursday 18 - Tuesday 30 September 2008

Website

As part of the London Design Festival, D&AD will be presenting an exhibition of influential graphic design from the last 45 years, selected by past D&AD Presidents. Curated by Simon Waterfall, RCA graduate and current D&AD President, with Jeremy Myerson, Head of InnovationRCA and author of Rewind: 40 years of Design and Advertising.

Thursday 18 - Tuesday 23 September 2008

This fair specialises in modern and contemporary British art. Some of the UK’s leading art dealers will be selling the great names of the 20th century including Auerbach, Caro, and Hockney. Alongside is a large selection of work by contemporary artists some of whom already have international reputations – Hirst, Emin, Grayson Perry etc. and others who may be the stars of tomorrow.

Admission charge applies.

Opening times vary, for information call +44 (0)20 8742 1611 or visit the website.

Thursday 11 - Sunday 14 September 2008

Website