Reinventing a 250-year old icon
Royal Academy of Arts
Crowds in the Annenberg Courtyard during events to mark the opening of the redeveloped Royal Academy of Arts, © Justine Trickett
Not so much a project, but a seven-year assignment... Will Dallimore played a key role in the revitalisation of London’s Royal Academy of Arts (RA) – developing its first strategic plan, leading its rebranding and digital transformation, and launching its expanded campus.
Will was appointed as the RA's first Director of Communications on a 'change' manifesto. Despite its reputation for staging high-quality exhibitions, the RA lagged behind its competitors in terms of its brand, communications, offer and audience.
However, being independent and proudly artist-led – with a reputation for occasional anarchy – change didn't always come easy for the RA. One of the important early tasks was building belief amongst staff and the 100 or so Royal Academicians (who make up the RA's governing body) that change was not only necessary but possible.
A brand review process kicked off with an extensive consultation exercise involving artists, staff, trustees, funders, Friends of the RA and voices from outside. Having run similar projects in his agency career, it was an exhilarating challenge to run a high-stakes rebrand client-side. Partnering initially with Jane Wentworth Associates, then with Pentagram, the Academy's resulting brand platform and visual identity breathed fresh life into the RA and gave back some of the institution's confidence.
Poster designs by Pentagram illustrating the Royal Academy’s modern, confident and consistent presentation following rebranding.
Building on the momentum created, Will led the development of the RA's first strategic plan – which would provide the blueprint for the five-year period leading up to its 250th anniversary. At the heart of this was an inspiring vision to 'open up' the Academy, and share with more people the things that made it unique: the artists and architects who ran the place, the art school at its the heart, and the many treasures in its collection.
The first manifestation of this vision was online, as Will’s team partnered with innovation consultancy IDEO on a transformation of the Academy’s digital presence. A new website added layers of rich and engaging content and opened up the work and studios of the Royal Academicians to the public, alongside showcasing the Academy’s familiar exhibitions offer.
The new strategy and vision also helped spur progress in fundraising for the Academy’s capital project by Sir David Chipperfield RA including, crucially, the award of £12.7m from National Lottery Heritage Fund which enabled building works to commence.
Royal Academy flag; the Lecture Theatre under construction, © Rory Mulvey; the completed Lecture Theatre in use, © Justine Trickett; visitors in the Casts Corridor following redevelopment, © Rory Mulvey.
With an expanded remit as Director of Public Engagement, Will led a cross-departmental team devising new NLHF-funded activities for an expanded range of audiences, and guided the visitor experience team to create a world-class welcome to match the RA’s new, world-class architecture.
After three years of construction, the Academy’s expanded campus – with new galleries and displays drawn from its collection, a stunning lecture theatre and the art school revealed – launched in May 2018 as part of a year-long celebration of its 250th anniversary. An opening weekend festival and numerous ‘RA250’ partnerships with peer organisations and the BBC helped take the festivities nationwide and enabled the Academy to attract a record 1.4m visitors.
Having delivered on the promise of his 2011 change manifesto, Will left the Royal Academy on 10 December 2018 – the day of its 250th anniversary – to return to consultancy via Will Dallimore & Co.
Visitors in the RA’s refurbished Burlington Gardens building, © Justine Trickett; banners by Grayson Perry RA on London’s Piccadilly as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations; visitors to the RA Late ‘Summer Pleasure Garden’, © Justine Trickett; annual report design, photo © Constanza Gaggero.
Selected achievements:
– Oversaw record attendances, including over 600k visitors to David Hockney: A Bigger Picture
– Introduced audience insight function, using data and market intelligence to drive success
– Rebrand and visual identity (with Jane Wentworth Associates and Pentagram)
– Award-winning digital transformation (with IDEO)
– Launched online collections explorer and ‘World’s biggest life drawing class’
– Development of lottery-funded public engagement activities as part of £50m redevelopment
– Launch, in 2018, of expanded campus designed by Sir David Chipperfield RA CBE
– ‘RA250’: Partnerships and events across 2018 to celebrate the Academy’s 250th anniversary
“I have immense admiration for the work Will did at the Royal Academy while he was our Director of Public Engagement. He had a particularly clear and creative sense of what our long-term strategy should be and how this could be expressed in our brand and communications.”
Sir Charles Saumarez Smith, Former Secretary & Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts