EXCLUSIVE Royal Academy visitors blame woke art for plummeting attendance figures amid gallery redundancies
Members of the Royal Academy of Art are blaming the institution for its own financial turmoil in furious feedback forms that criticise the London gallerys woke agenda.
Members of the Royal Academy of Art are blaming the institution for its own financial turmoil in furious feedback forms that criticise the London gallerys woke agenda.
The art institution announced redundancies last month and almost a fifth of RA workers are expected to lose their jobs as the organisation struggles to stay out of the red.
The visitor feedback forms, seen exclusively by the Mail on Sunday, reveal that a mob of angry members, known as Friends of the RA, are not returning due to the woke art.
One disgruntled Friend wrote in a long missive to the Piccadilly institution: Dear RA, I see in the press that the RA is losing money and facing further redundancies.
Could I suggest there may be an element of go woke, go broke here?
I used to be a Friend but cancelled this because there seemed to be an over-emphasis on DEI [Diversity Equity and Inclusion].
Please consider a return to exhibitions based on the quality of the art itself. Visitors wont come to be preached at.
Overall attendance to the RA has dropped by 40 per cent, from 1 million visitors before covid to 600,000 visitors post pandemic.
The Royal Academy of Art announced redundancies last month and almost a fifth of RA workers are expected to lose their jobs as the organisation struggles to stay out of the red
Members are blaming the institution for its own financial turmoil in furious feedback forms that criticise the London gallerys woke agenda
The visitor feedback forms, seen exclusively by the Mail on Sunday, reveal that a mob of angry members, known as Friends of the RA, are not returning due to the woke art
According to internal documents seen by the Mail earlier this month, only a fifth of older people that culturally engaged pre covid are coming back.
The age range of older people is not defined.
A spokesperson for the RA said this was down to increasing costs and changing visitor behaviours.
And yet, visitors themselves say the art gallery is responsible for its dwindling numbers.
One left a strongly worded complaint: As the Royal Academy one expects that your mission, ambition and vision is to offer to the visitors and experience on quality and learning.
This is what I want to see. Not the despicable, abhorrent, dishonest, self-entitled, and delusional woke agenda that you seem happy to feed, making you lose any credibility.
Another member wrote: This is the first exhibition I have visited in over a year and was seriously thinking of ceasing being a member.
I will keep an open mind until my membership falls due in the Spring – cease trying to be so WOKE – does not become you.
The RA has dipped in and out of the red since 2018, when it had made a loss of £2.74m and a loss of £2m the following year.
The gallery was saved by cash injections amounting to almost £5m over three consecutive years after 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Other complaints from visitors included virtue signalling by asking visitors to recycle and dismay at the RA building flying a pride flag.
The bottom line according to one visitor: No need to be woke in order to attract an audience.
The Royal Academy has been reached for comment.