Taking place between 12 September 2026 - 3 January 2027, our Annual Exhibition showcases over 500 contemporary works within our historic galleries. Featuring both emerging talent and established names, spanning painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, architecture, sculpture, and mixed-media installation - it represents some of the most exciting artists working across the UK and beyond today.  

Meet the selectors for the 173 Annual Open

Selection is overseen by a panel of guest experts alongside RWA Academicians. This year, we are delighted to welcome:  

Sheryll Catto: As Artistic Director and CEO of ActionSpace, Sheryll has spent years dismantling the margins around learning-disabled artists. Her work is not about inclusion rhetoric but infrastructure — building studios, support systems, and professional pathways that ‘treat artistic practice as serious, sustained labour’. 

ActionSpace creates platforms for underrepresented voices in the contemporary visual arts by collaborating with leading cultural institutions to ensure accessible opportunities for learning disabled artists. In 2025, ActionSpace artist Nnena Kalu was awarded the Turner Prize. 

Ceri Hand: is a creative coach, mentor, public speaker and business founder supporting thousands of creatives each year.

Prior to establishing Ceri Hand she was Director of Programmes for Somerset House, where she successfully helped to build its profile and brand, shaping its reputation as one of the UK’s top 10 most visited arts attractions (2.5million visitors annually).  

Throughout her career she’s worked with and commissioned new work from thousands of artists including notably: Gary Simmons, Angela Bulloch, Pipilotti Rist, Walid Raad/The Atlas Group, Anthea Hamilton, John Akomfrah and Black Audio Film Collective, Sissel Tolaas, Shilpa Gupta, Candice Breitz, Jeremy Deller & Alan Kane, Paulina Olowska, Claudio Parmiggiani, Mai-Thu Perret, Josephine Pryde, Clare Woods and Heimo Zobernig.  

Paul Hedge: Co-founder of Hales Gallery (London/New York), bringing over 30 years of international art world expertise.  

Paul was co-founder of Scratch Gallery, one of the first pioneering, artist led spaces in London, located in New Cross. Across his carer he has produced numerous influential shows with artists including, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Mike Nelson, Hew Locke, Sarah Jones, Richard Woods, Hans op de Beeck and Tomoko Takahashi.  

Open Call