I didn’t expect the first thing I’d see at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition preview party to be a mac ‘n’ cheese van. Yet, as I tactically tottered in my heels underneath the building’s ornate archway, and into the museum’s famous Annenberg Courtyard for its annual societal bash, there it was to my left. A small, blue van much like the kind you’d find on the muddied fields of Glastonbury Festival, serving up some good greasy grub to the most glittering crowd in London – and there was a long queue.
The Summer Exhibition is nothing if not eclectic. Held every year since 1769, it’s the world’s largest open-submission contemporary art show, with works from all over the world judged by a rotating committee operating around a single theme. This year, as chosen by internationally acclaimed architect Farshif Moussavi, that theme was “dialogues”, a dedication to art’s “capacity to forge dialogues and to afford us sensitivity towards societal concerns, such as ecology, survival and living together.
Moussavi explained: “These dialogues can be between people of different races, genders, or cultures; between humans, all species, and the planet; or across different disciplines – art, science, politics for example.”
The preview party is always a starry affair, with this year’s proceedings co-chaired by broadcaster Clara Amfo, actor Helena Bonham Carter, designer Rejina Pyo, Royal Academician and sculptor Conrad Shawcross, and entrepreneur and arts patron Hikari Yokoyama, all of whom were seen engaging in dialogues of their own across the exhibition floor.
Clad in a black tulle floral dress by Simone Rocha, Bonham Carter attracted a particular amount of excitement – I spotted a few guests taking sneaky photos from afar – having stationed herself in one of the portraiture rooms alongside Grayson Perry. Perry’s paintbox-inspired look comprised orange tights, ruffled blue pantaloons, and fuchsia platforms.
I found friends near the cocktail bar, where guests were served champagne from Fortnum & Mason as well as a collection of shrubbery-inspired drinks, and we attempted to wriggle through the crowds. On the way, we found singer-songwriter Maisie Peters, who was playing a game of “guess the price” of the art on the walls – something she’d spotted was going for a humble £60,000 – and fellow musician Jessie Ware, who was deep in conversation with 16Arlington’s co-founder Marco Capaldo. We reached a Cicchetti station stacked with tacos (delicious but impossible to eat while making small talk) and freshly shucked Maldon oysters.
Elsewhere, literary giants like Zadie Smith and Bernardine Evaristo mingled alongside an array of British actors (Archie Madekwe, Ben Hardy, James Norton) and leading fashion designers, including Connor Ives, Nensi Dojaka, Charlie Casely-Hayford, and Roksanda Ilinčić, whose feathery blue stilettos were a work of art in of themselves.
The art was selling fast, as people kept reminding us whenever we walked past them. Liberty Joy, owner of Liberty Joy Archive vintage shop in Cecil Court, had already snapped up a piece for £100. Arriving fashionably late was Paloma Faith, who made a case for knee-high socks covered in red love hearts, and Alexa Chung, arm-in-arm with boyfriend Tom Sturridge. Chung’s strapless blue Erdem gown featured a stunning portrait by Kaye Donachie.
A DJ set from Fat Tony had guests dancing inside by the decks just as my own energy levels were starting to fade. After a few more truffle potatoes (surely the best canape ever?), I decided to make my exit, swerving past an array of even more famous faces, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Tobias Menzies, and Trinny Woodall. On my way out, I clocked the mac ‘n’ cheese van, still stationed in its spot, with a crowd of smokers now seated beside it. The queue was still there, though – even longer than before. It clearly doesn’t matter how famous you are… there’s nothing quite like a portion of mac ‘n’ cheese.
