THE GREAT EXHIBITION (Royal College of Arts 2007)



HOW IT STARTED


The Great Exhibition of 1851 was one of the defining moments in the history and development of art and design in the UK. Held in London's Hyde Park, it succeeded in its aim to showcase Britain's industrial skill and material prosperity. Over six million people visited the 13,000 exhibits displayed in the Crystal Palace – a vast glass and iron structure purpose built for the occasion – over the six-month period of the exhibition, and the money raised was used to advance cultural, scientific and educational learning in the capital and beyond.
(from RCA website)

Because the exhibition was so successful, it led to some of London’s great museums and institutions such as the Royal College of Art, Imperial College and the Royal College of Music all moving to the area around what is now called Exhibition Road.


To mark the 150th anniversary the Royal College of Art, based on Kensington Gore, held its annual summer show for their graduating students under the title Great Exhibition 2007. Unfortunatley, they did not allow cameras in the exhibition so i could not take pictures of the beautiful work from the graduating students. However, they will be available later this year online on the Royal Collage of Arts website. You can view last years work on the link below.
http://dams.rca.ac.uk/res/sites/Show2006/search.html