A surprise art show

The "Travel Treasure" that has made the most important impact upon me is a charity art show/sale in London, RCA Secret. Once a year the Royal College of Art collects postcard sized pieces of art from students/former students/famous artists and sells them in a one day sale for 55GBP each with a max of 4 postcards per purchaser. The pieces are signed on the back and sold first come first served by number. It's an exciting chance to get a little piece of art by a famous named artist for cheap. The fact that the money raised goes to the RCA student scholarships makes it an even better event.

I happened to be in London in 2004 and dumb lucked into the show. I needed something to do on a cold Saturday morning in November, and looked online and found out about the show. I registered for a collectors number (something that you need to purchase) and showed up at 6am outside their building. It was then I found out how serious people were about this show. It turns out that people started lining up 2 weeks prior! That's even before the postcards go on show for the general public! I walked through the event and made my list of numbers of the ones that I like (they now post the postcards out a week prior to the event) and got in line to purchase. When I finally got to the front of the line it was a maze of activity, you go to an RCA student and give them your collectors number and then the numbers of the pieces of art you want. The student tells you yay or nay for the card, and once you hit 4 they check you out and print out order forms. Take those forms to the cashier, pay your money, and return to the studio space to collect your new art!

I love the event. The pictures, the possibilities of getting a "famous" artist, buying something that I want to show on my little shelf. I'll go back for as many of the RCA secret events as I can.