HIDDEN 2026: celebrating the creative talents of technical and non-academic staff at the Royal College of Art

Set for 24–28 February 2026 at the RCA’s Battersea campus, HIDDEN 2026 highlights the artistic contributions of the community's non-academic members.

This year over 70 staff members will exhibit their work, representing a diverse cross-section of the RCA community that includes workshop technicians, librarians and IT support technologists. The exhibition shines a light on the often-unseen expertise of the individuals who underpin the student experience at the RCA.

Visitors can expect a diverse array of mediums, including sculpture, photography, painting, ceramics, and animation, offering a unique perspective on the talent thriving within the RCA’s creative ecosystem.

Here are some of the projects that will be on show:

Alba Ceide Rodriguez & Claudia Espart Hernandez, Technical Instructors (Digital Print)

Alba Ceide Rodriguez and Claudia Espart Hernandez are Technical Instructors in Digital Print who share a focus on building communities of practice through craft. For HIDDEN 2026, they present D.I.Y: Analogue Riso Posters, a series of works born from a collaborative workshop they hosted for RCA staff. By bringing together technicians, academics, and professional services staff to converse and create using collage and Risograph printing, the project highlights the power of making together as a form of collective inspiration.

Jake McCombe, RCA Metal Specialist Technical Instructor

Jake McCombe is a jewellery artist and the Metal Specialist Technical Instructor at the RCA. For HIDDEN 2026, McCombe presents a curated selection of silver and brass jewellery drawn from various collections. His work showcases a mastery of material and form, offering a cross-section of his technical expertise and evolving aesthetic language.

Oonagh Quinn, Administrative Assistant, RCA Graduate Diploma

Oonagh Quinn presents Intimates of 'Waiting for a Cuppa', a collection of paintings that extracts and magnifies moments from her 2020 work, Waiting for a Cuppa. While the original piece depicts a casual domestic scene of friends in a kitchen, these new works isolate specific, cropped fragments: the lean of a figure, the curve of a relaxed stomach, or the soft indentation of a hand on a hip. This is Oonagh’s first time exhibiting in HIDDEN.