The Royal Academy of Arts, right after paying tribute to the great master Michaelina Wautier and following its traditional Summer Exhibition, now opens its galleries to the purest, boldest, and most unfiltered creativity: the world of children and young people. Since 1768, the beating heart of art, the RA is not only supporting the artists of the future but placing them right at the centre of Burlington House.
The Young Artists’ Summer Show 2026, beginning its adventure on 14 July, carries the imagination of young talents aged 4–18 from every corner of the United Kingdom out onto the streets and onto gallery walls.
Now in its eighth year, this exciting event is an open-call exhibition in which students educated in the United Kingdom can participate completely free of charge. Works selected by a passionate jury of artists and art professionals are displayed both on the digital platform and physically in the Royal Academy’s Weston Studio gallery.
What Awaits You?
- Broad Age Range: A perspective stretching from the first lines drawn by a 4-year-old to the profound social critiques of an 18-year-old.
- Hybrid Experience: Selected works are both physically touchable in the Weston Studio and accessible to viewers worldwide through the RA’s online exhibition.
- Free Entry: This celebration of young talent is completely free to visit and requires no booking.
Apartment No:26 Note
After the sophisticated—and sometimes corporate—atmosphere of the big Summer Exhibition, the Young Artists’ Summer Show arrives like a breath of fresh air. Here there are no rules, no trends, no anxieties about the art market. Only colours, stories, and the tremendous energy of eyes discovering the world for the very first time. If your path takes you to London at the end of July, we strongly recommend stopping by Burlington House and becoming a guest in the world of these small but enormous! talents. The perspective of a 10-year-old might just remind you of those lost fragments of reality in the artificial world of 2026.
