Comedian to present BBC show about the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition

Joe Lycett is to present a BBC programme about the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition.

The comedian has first-hand experience of the prestigious event, as in 2018 he entered a small sculpture called Chris made from clay and a Pringles tube that ended up in that year’s exhibition. He put a £12.5million price tag on it, but it never sold.

However, every year since his artwork has been rejected by the judges for what is the world’s largest open-entry art contest. Competition is fierce: of the 15,000 works submitted this year, only 900 will end up in the final show.

His new programme, Joe Lycett: Summer Exhibitionist is described as ‘a celebration of why people love making and creating art of all kinds’, and will air on BBC Two on Saturday July 23 at 8pm.

He said: ‘This programme is one of my favourite things I’ve worked on in a long time. It was such a privilege to meet some of the extraordinary artists and see their brilliant, joyful, thought-provoking and often very funny works. I was massively inspired, and I hope audiences will be too.’

In the hour-long show, he will look at the  judging process and by delving into the artworks and backstories of his fellow entrants hoping to realise their dream of making it onto the RA walls. They include a self-taught photorealist to a retired primary school teacher, a moonlighting web designer and a contemporary Islamic artist.

Tom Currie, executive producer at BBC Studios, says: ‘Joe Lycett: Summer Exhibitionist is highly entertaining, full of warmth, joy and intriguing characters. It showcases the immense creativity of the British public and celebrates the joy of making, as well as art as a superpower. Joe brings his trademark wit, warmth and irreverence to the hallowed halls of the Royal Academy.’

Published: 6 Jul 2022