RWA Show – It Starts!

The news has been around for ages now really, but nothing concrete apart from the basic info on the RWA site. Now though the work’s really starting in earnest on the ‘Crimes of Passion’ show coming up at the Royal West of England Academy by the Victoria Rooms in Clifton.

Around 50 different artists will be showing work there, pretty much everyone linked to Bristol apart from Banksy, who we’re assured really isn’t taking any part in it. So no rumour mongering now, y’hear?

As well as the work hanging on the walls though, 5 of the upstairs galleries of the academy are going to be painted up over the coming weeks ready for the show. Pretty crazy really, it’s an awesome space for shows anyway, great light, etc, and it’s also just so, well, refined. How many people back in the day thought that this place would end up smelling of Belton?

So, got some photos of things as they stand at the moment to give you an idea of what sort of space is being talked about here…

There’s scaffolding all over the shop.

Everything’s masked off in plastic sheeting…

…including the floors…

…and especially all that frieze work running round the top of one of the rooms.

Here’s some people for scale…

…in front of a wall lined with paint ready to go…

…with the rules set out for all.

Not sure what’s going on at the back here with the black wall…

…but other parts have been marked out for various people. Although maybe this bit’s a finished Mudwig installation piece.

So, the show opens on the 21st of March 2009, and goes on through to the 2nd of May 2009. There’s lots of stuff going on around it too, tours on the 11th April and 2nd May (both Saturdays) and ‘artist led’ tours on the 5th and 19th of April (both Sundays).

Most interesting of all, Thursday 23rd April, Felix is doing an ‘in conversation with’ evening with the legendary John Nation. Worth booking for early.

The RWA website is pretty oddly built, so difficult to link to each bit of info easily, but you can find your way to more info from here.