The RHA Annual exhibition, now in it’s 184th year is the most ambitious public event in the Academy’s calendar. Ireland’s largest open submission exhibition includes painting, sculpture, print, photography, drawing and architectural models and it brings together the works of RHA members, invited artists and artists selected from open submission.

Inviting artists to participate enables the Academy to curate an area of the show, encourages and promotes young artists and includes older established artists.

The open submission process provides almost half of the Annual Exhibition and over the period of 5 days is rigorously selected by Academy Members from the vast number of applicants, which this year involved over 2,300 artworks.

By being selected from open submission these exhibitions have a meritocratic transparency and their relevance is not only as a spotting ground where other art world professionals look at new trends and talents but it also presents to the visitor and discerning art collector an unparalleled opportunity to view work by some of Ireland’s most-established and promising artists. The work of Academy Members represents and reflects the different disciplines of this national institution and provides the constant core of the Annual Exhibition.

This year exhibitors include John Behan RHA, Liam Belton RHA, Pauline Bewick RHA, Basil Blackshaw RHA, Carson & Crushell Architects, Mark Clare, Diana Copperwhite ARHA, Gary Coyle RHA, Colin Davidson, Mollie Douthit, Gabhann Dunne, Andrew Folan RHA, Martin Gale RHA, Graham Gingles, Pat Harris, Martin Healy, Rachel Joynt RHA, Dragana Jurisic, Mary Kelly, Roxana Manouchehri, Colin Martin ARHA, Ed Milano, Janet Mularney ARHA, Stephen McKenna PPRHA, Seán McSweeney HRHA, Abigail O’Brien RHA, Liam O’Callaghan, Eilis O’Connell RHA, Geraldine O’Neill ARHA, Vivienne Roche RHA, Joe Scullion, Neil Shawcross RHA, Amelia Stein RHA, Imogen Stuart RHA, Donald Teskey RHA and Barbara Warren RHA.

The Annual exhibition also offers one of the largest prize funds associated with an exhibition in Ireland. In 2014, a total prize fund of over €41,500 will be distributed over 14 individual awards, the most noteworthy being the Hennessy Craig Scholarship of €10,000.

A series of artist led tours and talks will run during this exhibition.