The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy is an open submission exhibition, open to all and where works by established and quite famous artists hang alongside completely unknown, emerging artists and members of the public. This years overall coordinator was Ryan Gander and the theme of the show was "Interconnectedness"
Exhibited painting :
Salsa Square, acrylic on wood, 50cm x 50 cm, 2025
See following statement by Ryan Gander:
The 2026 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition’s theme
is Interconnectedness. It will aim to explore ideas of
entanglement, as well as the unexpected and fortuitous
connections and associations between disparate
things, no matter how abstract or illogical. Proof that,
as humans, our outputs hold more commonality than
separation, without us intentionally seeking it.
Submissions are welcome in any form and medium,
and I invite you to share process-based or content-
driven work that will help shape these ideas. The
curatorial approach will be to mix all media without
discrimination; architecture, print, painting and sculpture
will be integrated throughout the show, creating
conversations with each other rather than being
confined to their own spaces. I am hoping this will
remind us that historically great artwork is cognitive
first and retinal second.
As an advocate for art education and its importance
to society, I am particularly keen to encourage degree
students and recent graduates to submit to this year’s
exhibition.
Ryan Gander OBE RA