Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce | |
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| Abbreviation | RSA |
|---|---|
| Established | 1754; 271 years ago (1754) |
| Founder | William Shipley |
| Founded at | London, England |
| Type | Registered charity[1] |
| Legal status | Royal Charter Company[2] |
Professional title | FRSA |
| Headquarters | 8 John Adam Street London, WC2N 6EZ |
| Fields | Arts and culture |
| Membership | 30,000+fellows[3] |
Official language | English |
Chairman | Sir Loyd Grossman |
Chief executive | Andy Haldane |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce |
TheRoyal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce,[2][4] commonly known as theRoyal Society of Arts (RSA), is an organisation that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, social progress, and sustainable development. Through its extensive network of changemakers, thought leadership, and projects, the RSA seeks to drive transformative change, enabling “people, places, and the planet to thrive in harmony.” Committed to social change and creating progress, the RSA embodies a philosophy that values the intersection of arts, industry, and societal well-being to address contemporary challenges and enrich communities worldwide.[5][6][7][1]
From its "beginnings in a coffee house in the mid-eighteenth century", the RSA, which began as a UK institution, is now an international society for the improvement of "everything and anything". An "ambitious" organisation, the RSA has "evolved and adapted, constantly reinventing itself to keep in step with changing times". This journey reflects its commitment to "social reform and competing visions of a better world".[8]
Notable Fellows (before 1914, Members) includeCharles Dickens,Benjamin Franklin,Stephen Hawking,Karl Marx,Adam Smith,Marie Curie,Nelson Mandela,David Attenborough,Judi Dench,William Hogarth,John Diefenbaker, andTim Berners-Lee. Today, the RSA has fellows elected from 80 countries worldwide.
Founded in 1754 byWilliam Shipley as theSociety for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, it was granted aRoyal Charter in 1847,[9] and the right to use the term "Royal" in its name by KingEdward VII in 1908.[10] Members of the society became known as 'Fellows' from 1914.[11][12][13]
In the nineteenth century,The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was organised byPrince Albert,Henry Cole, Francis Henry,George Wallis,Charles Dilke and other members of the society as a celebration of modernindustrial technology and design.[14]
In September 2023, RSA workers voted to strike for the first time in the organisation's 270 year history, saying management had entered into pay negotiations in "bad faith".[15][16]
The RSA's patron isAnne, Princess Royal (who replaced her father,Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2011),[17][18] its chairman isTim Eyles,[19] and its chief executive since September 2021 is formerBank of England Chief EconomistAndy Haldane.[20]
Fellowship is granted to applicants "who are aligned with the RSA's vision and share in our values."[22] Some prospective fellows are approached by the RSA and invited to join in recognition of their work; some are nominated or "fast-tracked" by existing fellows and RSA staff,[23][24][25] or by partner organisations such as theChurchill Fellowship;[26][27] others make their own applications with accompanied references, which are reviewed by a formal admissions panel consisting of RSA trustees and fellowship councillors.[28][29]
Fellows of the RSA are entitled to use thepost-nominal lettersFRSA. They also gain access to the RSA Library and to other premises in central London.[30] Fellows pay an annual charitable subscription to the RSA. Alongside this, all new Fellows pay a one-off registration fee.[28]
Originally modelled on theDublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufacturers and other Useful Arts, the RSA, from its foundation, offeredprizes through a Premium Award Scheme that continued for 100 years. Medals and, in some cases, money were awarded to individuals who achieved success in published challenges within the categories of Agriculture, Polite Arts,[further explanation needed] Manufacture, Colonies and Trade, Chemistry and Mechanics. Successful submission included agricultural improvements in the cultivation of crops and reforestation, devising new forms of machinery, including an extendable ladder to aid firefighting that has remained in use relatively unchanged, and artistic skill, through submissions by young students, many of whom developed into famous artists such asEdwin Landseer who at the age of 10 was awarded a silver medal for his drawing of a dog.[citation needed]
The RSA originally specifically precluded premiums forpatented solutions.[31] Today the RSA continues to offer premiums.[32]
In 1823,Augustus Siebe won the Vulcan medal from theRoyal Society of Arts for an improved screw threading tool.[33]
The RSA awards three medals – theAlbert Medal, theBenjamin Franklin Medal,[34] and theBicentenary Medal. Medal winners have includedNelson Mandela, SirFrank Whittle, and ProfessorStephen Hawking.
In 1936, the RSA awarded the first distinctions ofRoyal Designers for Industry (RDI or HonRDI), reserved for "those very few who in the judgment of their peers have achieved 'sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry'".
In 1937, "The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry" was established as an association with the object of "furthering excellence in design and its application to industrial purposes": membership of the Faculty is automatic for (and exclusive to) all RDIs and HonRDIs. The Faculty currently has 120 Royal Designers (RDI) and 45 Honorary Royal Designers (non-British citizens who are awarded the accolade of HonRDI): the number of designers who may hold the distinction of RDI at any one time is strictly limited.
The Faculty consists of practitioners from fields as disparate as engineering, graphics, interaction, product, furniture, fashion, interiors, landscape, and urban design. Past and present members includeEric Gill,Enid Marx, SirFrank Whittle, SirJonathan Ive, DameVivienne Westwood, SirJames Dyson, SirTim Berners-Lee,Manolo Blahnik,Naoto Fukasawa,Rei Kawakubo,Issey Miyake,Dieter Rams,Sergio Pininfarina,Alvar Aalto,Vico Magistretti,Walter Gropius,Charles Eames,Richard Buckminster Fuller,Saul Bass,Raymond Loewy,George Nelson,Paul Rand,Carlo Scarpa,Vuokko Nurmesniemi,Massimo Vignelli,Yohji Yamamoto,Peter Zumthor, and more.[35]
In Great Britain and Ireland, the RSA offers regional activities to encourage Fellows to address local topics of interest and to connect with other Fellows in their locality. The British Regions are: London, Central, North, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales and, Ireland. The RSA has a presence around the world under its RSA Global scheme with a notable presence in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.[36]
The RSA's public events programme is a key part of its charitable mission to make world-changing ideas and debate freely available to all.[37] Over 100 keynote lectures, panel discussions, debates, and documentary screenings are held each year, many of which are live-streamed over the web.[38] Events are free and open to the public, and mp3 audio files[39] and videos[40] are made available on the RSA's website andYouTube page.[41]
Speakers on the RSA's stage have includedKen Robinson,Al Gore, SirDavid Attenborough,Alain de Botton,Michael Sandel,Nassim Nicholas Taleb,Martha Nussbaum,Desmond Tutu,Steven Pinker,Susan Cain,Dan Pink,Dan Ariely,Brene Brown,Slavoj Zizek,David Cameron,Yuval Noah Harari[42] andDambisa Moyo.[43]
The choice of speaker for the recent annual Presidential lecture has been a matter of interest in the press.[44] Danish professorBjörn Lomborg, was chosen; his latest book,Cool It, suggests that the imminent demise of polar bears is a myth. As president of the RSA, Prince Philip's first choice of speaker wasIan Plimer, professor of mineral geology at Adelaide University, but this was rejected[by whom?] as too controversial, as Plimer argues that the theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming is unproven.[citation needed]
On 14 January 2010, the RSA in partnership withArts Council England hosted a one-day conference in London called "State of the Arts".[45] A number of speakers from various disciplines from art to government gathered to talk about the state of the arts industry in the United Kingdom. Notable speakers includedJeremy Hunt MP,Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and his counterpart,Ben Bradshaw MP, who was then the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[citation needed]
Excerpts from the events programme form the basis for the 10-minutewhiteboard animations as shown on thetheRSAorg YouTube channel.[46] The series was created as a way of making important, socially-beneficial ideas as accessible, clear, engaging and universal as possible.[47] The series is produced and audio-edited at the RSA, and the animations are created by RSA FellowAndrew Park at Cognitive.[48]
The first 14 of these had gained 46 million views as of 2011,[49] making it the no.1 nonprofit YouTube channel worldwide. The first animation in the RSA Animate series was based onRenata Salecl's speech delivered for RSA on her book about choice.
The society offered the first national public examinations in 1882 that led to the formation of the RSA Examinations Board now included in theOxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations Board.
In 1876, a predecessor of theRoyal College of Music, theNational Training School for Music, was founded by the RSA.[50]
The RSA devised a scheme for commemorating the links between famous people and buildings, by placing plaques on the walls – these continue today as "blue plaques" which have been administered by a range of government bodies. The first of these plaques was, in fact, of red terracotta erected outside a former residence ofLord Byron (since demolished). The society erected 36 plaques until, in 1901, responsibility for them was transferred to theLondon County Council (which changed the colour of the plaques to the current blue) and, later, theGreater London Council (the G.L.C.) and, most recently, English Heritage. Similar schemes are now operated in all theconstituent countries of the United Kingdom.
In 1929, the society purchased the entire village ofWest Wycombe. After extensive repairs, the village was legally conveyed by deed to theNational Trust.[51][52]
During the 1980s, the RSA worked with theComino Foundation and established a Comino Fellowship Committee 'to change the cultural attitude to industry from one of lack of interest or dislike to one of concern and esteem'. This eventually led to a joint government/industry initiative to promote 1986 as "Industry Year",[53][54] with the RSA and the Comino Foundation providing core funding of £250,000 – which persuaded theConfederation of British Industry to raise £1 million and government departments to provide £3 million.[55]
In July 2008, the RSA became a sponsor of anacademy inTipton, TheRSA Academy, which opened in September 2008. A New building for the school was completed in September 2010. In 2021 it was announced that the school would no longer be associated with the RSA. Projects include Arts and Ecology, Citizen Power, Connected Communities, Design and Society, Education, Public Services, Social Brain, and Technology in a Cold Climate.[56] There are six schools in the RSA Family of Academies, all in the West Midlands, includingWhitley Academy. The former RSA Academy in Tipton was also a member, until its disassociation in 2021.[57]
Past projects include delivering fresh drinking water to the developing world, rethinking intellectual property from first principles to produce a Charter (published as theAdelphi Charter), investigating schemes to manage international migration and exploring the feasibility of a UK-widepersonal carbon trading system. It still promotes the practice of inclusive design, and is working with artists to communicate ideas about environmental sustainability (for example, through one of the RSA's past projects,WEEE Man, and currently through the Arts and Ecology project).
The RSA has been home toTEDxLambeth, a TEDx conference based in Lambeth, since October 2019.[58]
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The RSA moved to its current home in 1774. The House, situated in John Adam Street, near theStrand in central London, had been purpose-designed by the Adam Brothers (James Adam andRobert Adam) as part of their innovativeAdelphi scheme. The original building (6–8 John Adam Street) includes the Great Room, which features a magnificent sequence of paintings by Irish artistJames Barry titledThe Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture and portraits of the society's first and second presidents, painted byThomas Gainsborough andJoshua Reynolds respectively. On the RSA building's rearfrieze, the words "The Royal Society of Arts" are displayed (see photograph at right), although its full name is "The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce".
The RSA has expanded into adjacent buildings, and now includes 2 and 4 John Adam Street and 18 Adam Street. The first occupant of 18 Adam Street was the Adelphi Tavern, which is mentioned inDickens'sThe Pickwick Papers. The former private dining room of the Tavern contains a magnificent Adam ceiling with painted roundels by the school of Kauffman and Zucchi.
A major refurbishment in 2012 by Matthew Lloyd Architects won aRIBA London Award in 2013, and a RIBAEnglish Heritage Award for Sustaining the Historic Environment, also in 2013.[59]
The origin of London'sRoyal Academy of Arts lies in an attempt in 1755 by members of the RSA (then simply known as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), principally the sculptorHenry Cheere, to found an autonomous academy of arts to teach painting and sculpture. Prior to this a number of artists were members of the RSA, including Cheere andWilliam Hogarth, or were involved in small-scale private art academies, such as theSt Martin's Lane Academy. Although Cheere's attempt failed, the eventualcharter, called an 'Instrument', used to establish the Royal Academy of Arts over a decade later was almost identical to that drawn up by Cheere and the RSA in 1755.[60] The RSA also hosted the firstexhibition of contemporary art in 1760. Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds were among those who exhibited at this first exhibition, and were subsequently founder members of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768.
An1852 photography exhibition led to the creation of thePhotographic Society of London in 1853.
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