In September 2009 I became Rector of the Royal College of Art, after eight years as Director of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in New York City. Joining the College and working alongside some of the world’s most talented artists and designers has been an incredibly stimulating and educational experience for me. Witnessing and engaging in the contemporary discourse on design and art on a daily basis is a truly remarkable privilege, and SHOW RCA is the ideal forum for that discourse to be aired. Here, RCA students present their final projects, representing the very latest practice in art and the most incisive thinking in design.

Coming from the world of museums and contemporary design curation, I know just how eagerly anticipated these SHOWS are by my fellow museum directors from all over the world. These and other leading figures from the cultural and creative sector rightly regard the RCA exhibition as a ‘must see’ event. The work on display at the College defines the moment and forecasts future directions. These are the themes to follow in the art world; the concepts we take note of in design. I congratulate each of the graduating students and thank both academic and technical staff for the invaluable support they have given our graduates.

The worlds of art and design are moving rapidly, and the social, economic and environmental agendas that govern society have shifted. Design now aligns itself more with science, materials, nanotechnology and pressing global challenges ranging from climate change to social need. Artists from China, Brazil and India are no longer expressing an aesthetic vision solely at a national level or within a biennale, but are increasingly featured in British galleries, publications and online. As an international centre for art and design, the College embraces and informs this discourse. In acknowledging this new multi-polarity, the RCA has chosen to honour the work of artists from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, conferring Honorary Doctorates on William Kentridge and Yinka Shonibare, whose work crosses boundaries of media – from animation to paint, to sculpture – and whose subject matter illuminates our cultural heritage and hybridity.

Those graduating this summer will know all too well how crowded our facilities have become in Kensington; earlier this academic year, we were proud to open the new Sackler Building at our Battersea campus, housing the Painting Department. Construction work began this year on the new Dyson Building which, when completed in 2012, will be home to the Photography and Printmaking Departments. The building will also house a lecture theatre and public gallery, as well as a suite of design innovation incubators for RCA graduates to develop promising design concepts with real commercial application. We thank our donors – alumnus James Dyson and the Sir James Dyson Foundation, and the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation – for helping the RCA realise these important new additions to our campus.

And, of course, an especial vote of thanks is owed to former Rector, Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, for his vision of a new Battersea campus. Once complete, students and staff at the College will benefit from a third more space than they currently occupy.

We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to all those who have supported the Royal College of Art – the institution, its courses, its equipment, its projects, its prizes and its students – throughout the academic year 2009/10. I cannot stress too much the very real fact that without investment from the private sector, supplementing our public income, the College would be a poorer place in many ways.

And finally, I wish to pay special thanks to the Conran Foundation educational charity, which aims to promote a better understanding of good design and visual culture. For the fifth year running they have very generously sponsored this year’s graduate SHOWS.

Dr Paul Thompson
Rector, Royal College of Art