Remembering Exhibitions at the RWA

'Henrietta' by Vanessa Bell, purchased in the 103rd RWA Annual Exhibition in 1955 courtesy of the RWA

Press release issued: 21 May 2013

Remembering Exhibitions, an exhibition curated by students from the University of Bristol's MA in History of Art: Histories and Interpretations opens at the Royal West of England Academy this week.

Over the last three months, students from the University have been working with the RWA researching work from the permanent collection as part of a collaborative curatorial module, culminating in an exhibition that explores the RWA’s 'collective exhibition history'.

The exhibition looks at art and its documentation, retracing the past and exploring the concept of absence and memory. It will focus on works from the permanent collection to bring the Academy’s exhibition history to life, using archival objects including catalogues and show posters to address not just what we remember, but how we remember.

The RWA boasts a rich and fascinating history of past exhibitors and exhibitions dating back to its inaugural group show in 1845. Since then it has shown Canaletto, Rembrandt and Velasquez in a celebration of old masters, as well as bringing Gauguin, Bonnard and Rodin to the provinces in a seminal RWA exhibition on French Modern Art, 1930.

Remembering Exhibitions runs from Thursday 23 May to Wednesday 19 June.