Panel discussion and part of "The Successful Artist?" programme.

Is commercial success evidence of artistic achievement? Does fame or visibility equate to success? Who decides who is successful – the public, institutions, critics, peers or the artist themselves? What is the role of education for artistic achievement? How much of these factors can be determined by the artist? 

Join artist Yinka Shonibare MBE RA, Head of the RA Schools, Eliza Bonham Carter, and the Director of Ikon Gallery Jonathan Watkins to discuss who and what defines an artist’s success today.

"The successful artist?": Definers of success

World renowned designer Sir Paul Smith discusses his humble beginnings, what inspires him, and the lessons he's learnt throughout his career.

Paul Smith: finding inspiration in the everyday and the extraordinary

Mali Morris discusses her latest exhibition and display at the RA, as well as her career and practice, with author and poet Martha Kapos.

Acclaimed artist Mali Morris RA focuses on the expressive possibilities of abstract painting. Her work draws on many sources but constantly explores how colour can structure light and space.

Mali Morris in conversation with Martha Kapos

Catch up with this panel discussion featuring political satirist Steve Bell, artist Bedwyr Williams and artist duo John Wood and Paul Harrison as they explore humour and satire in art, discussing how it's impacted today’s contemporary art world.

Making a mockery: exploring humour and satire in art

As part of our 'When Science Meers Art' series Mathematician Professor Marcus du Sautoy OBE FRS, artist Conrad Shawcross RA and BBC presenter Samira Ahmed discuss how experimentation, curiosity and creative thinking are central to both science and sculpture. Download slides from this lecture: https://roy.ac/gh4d4

Marcus Du Sautoy & Conrad Shawcross RA in conversation

Artist and singer/songwriter Michael Stipe talks about his life-long passion for photography and its potential to produce a defining image of our times.

Michael Stipe In Conversation

Our panel, chaired by art critic, writer & curator, Sacha Craddock, and including Alistair Hudson, Director of the Whitworth and Mariam Zulfiqar, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at UP Projects, questions where sculpture is best exhibited and what impact sculptures have on the spaces they are presented in. Do sculptures act as catalysts for social change and can people connect better with a place when it contains a work of art?

Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.

What is sculpture good for?

Antony Gormley discusses his career spanning over 40 years and explores how his series of installations within the RA’s Main Galleries encouraged visitors to slow down and become aware of their own bodies and environment.

Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.

Anthony Gormley in conversation with Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, Iwona Blazwick

Theoretical astrophysicist, Priya Natarajan, joins Semiconductor, the artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, to discuss how artists contribute to our understanding of the world around and the relationship between physics, cosmology and art.

Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.

Understanding space through art

Anthropologist and director of the documentary 'Inside Australia', Hugh Brody discusses how geology, anthropology and humankind’s connection with the land are represented in Gormley’s work.

Hugh Brody on his documentary 'Inside Australia' and the work of Antony Gormley

Recorded during our exhibition Lucien Freud: The Self-portraits, Tracey Emin CBE RA and David Dawson(Lucien Freud's assistant and model) discuss their memories of the artist, as well as Emin and Freud’s shared ability to innovate, provoke and soul-search.

Tracy Emin and David Dawson In Conversation

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"The successful artist?": Definers of success

Royal Academy of Arts

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