The redevelopment of the RHA building in 2008 gave us the new spaces in the RHA which make up the RHA School & Studios. The RHA School has its own School Board made up of artist and Honorary Members of the Academy. Until the School becomes fully operational, the plan is to develop an Atelier Programme of Activities based on the core beliefs of the RHA School.

The foundations of this programme have developed from the School Mission Statement as devised by the School Board:

RHA School Mission Statement
The School will teach drawing and painting to younger artists who have already achieved a considerable competence in their work, and who wish to improve their technical skills and widen their understanding of painting. An atelier system will enable artists to learn from those with more experience, both from their peers and invited artists, who will teach by practical demonstration, themselves participating in projects. The School will emphasise the primacy of drawing from observation. Studio work will be complemented by lectures on relevant subjects from the arts and sciences.

Led by the School Principal Elect Mick O’Dea over the past two years, an atelier programme has grown organically, through a series of scheduled activities and in response to demand from artists. Invited artists have occupied the four RHA Studios on a continuous basis for terms of up to three months. Drawing marathons have been run on a frequent basis. A series of 22 lectures by Members of the Academy were presented on a weekly basis. An emerging artists studio award was offered to three artists.

Through the process of offering all these activities to date, the RHA School has now devised a comprehensive programme of lectures, workshops and drawing marathons which will be to the benefit of artists hoping to expand or develop their own practice. In addition three of the artists studios are being offered though an open competition application process.

See further details on each under, drawing marathons, workshops, lectures and artists studios.

For further information on the RHA School, please contact the Academy Co-ordinator,
Fernando Sanchez. Phone 01 6612558 Email fernando@rhagallery.ie