Thank you to all those who submitted paintings to the 209th RI Open Exhibition to be held at the Mall Galleries in May. We had a record number of 1735 submissions by non-members this year, an increase of 58%. From these submissions we have selected 211 paintings by non-members to hang alongside collections by RI members.
This year, for the first time, selection was completely digital due to Covid restrictions. In a recent letter to the membership, President Rosa Sepple thanked the RI council members for all their hard work throughout this lengthy process.
The selection of an exhibition is a difficult but democratic process. If you were unsuccessful this year please don’t be put off from sending your work in for selection next year. It is important to remember that we try to select from the submissions an exhibition of interesting and engaging paintings that will hang well together, so our decisions don’t reflect negatively on individual pieces of work, we are selecting a large, rich and varied group.
Congratulations to all those who have paintings selected this year! We are looking forward to an exciting, vibrant show and if restrictions allow, we look forward to seeing you there!
