Royal Society of Sculptors

The Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) is British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters is a centre for contemporary sculpture, on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It is the oldest and largest organisation dedicated to sculpture in the UK. Until 2017 it was the Royal British Society of Sculptors.
RSS is a registered charity, with a selective membership of around 600 professional sculptors, which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. It aims to inspire, inform and engage people of all ages and backgrounds with sculpture, and to support sculptors' development of their practice to the highest professional standards.
Structure.
Patronage.
The society has received Royal Patronage since 1911 and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II is the society's current Patron.
Governance.
The society was founded as a company limited by guarantee in 1905 and has been a registered charity since 1963. It is a selective membership based organisation, whose members elect its governing council, who are both Trustees and Directors. The council meet regularly to review applications and select new members.
Membership.
There are two types of membership: Members (formerly known as Associates until 2014) and Fellows, who are entitled to use the MRSS and FRSS post-nominal letters. Presidents of the society are entitled to use the post-nominal letters PRSS.
Awards.
Current.
First Plinth: Public Art Award.
Formerly FIRST@108: Public Art Award, the First Plinth is a biennial £10,000 award to contribute towards the production costs of producing a large-scale sculpture, thereby offering competing sculptors the opportunity to extend their practice into competing for public art commissions. Open to any artist working in three dimensions. The award is supported by the Mirisch & Lebenheim Charitable Foundation.
Grizedale Residency.
With thanks to the Brian Mercer Charitable Trust the Society offers an annual residency opportunity based at Grizedale Forest. This intensive six week long residency aims to foster experimentation and innovation in response to the natural environment.
Past Winners
Spotlight.
Founded in 2017, Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer is a private sculpture park in Buckinghamshire which surveys the breadth of contemporary sculptural practice. The park was established with the aim of offering a space for sculptural experimentation, development and dialogue. Alongside the annual exhibition programme, the park creates opportunities for artists to engage, exhibit and share their ideas. The annual spotlight award gives Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer a chance to work directly with the membership of The Royal Society of Sculptors; each year the Society members are invited to apply for the opportunity to present a solo installation within a cleared area of woodland. The successful applicant is selected and mentored through the process by Brooke Benington directors George Marsh and Lily Brooke. There is no restriction to the style, medium or scale of the work but applicants are asked to consider the environment in which the work will ultimately be exhibited.
Past Winners
Thread Residency.
"Thread" is a residency program and cultural centre that allows local and international artists to live and work in Sinthian, a rural village in Tambacounda, the southeastern region of Senegal. It houses two artists’ dwellings, as well as ample indoor and outdoor studio space.
Past Winners
Red House Residency.
For Benjamin Britten – one of the foremost composers of the 20th century – a quiet place to compose was absolutely essential. He was fortunate enough to achieve this for most of his life, spending his last two decades at The Red House, down a quiet lane on the outskirts of Aldeburgh, Suffolk. This new creative retreat at The Red House is open to women members of the Royal Society of Sculptors to spend time in Suffolk on a peaceful, creative retreat.
Past Winners
Gilbert Bayes Award.
Established in 2000 as the RBS Bursary Awards, it was renamed in 2018 after the artist Gilbert Bayes, whose charitable trust supports the awards. This is an annual award made to a small group of emerging sculptors that the society has judged to be of outstanding talent and potential. It is designed to aid them in the transition to full professional practice, by giving them a package of professional support including an annual membership of the society. The award is open to sculptors of any age, nationality, with or without formal training and working in any medium. Past winners include: Alex Chinneck, Tessa Farmer and William Mackrell.
Past Awards.
Brian Mercer Residencies.
Two annual scholarships for society members to experiment with stone or bronze under instruction from master craftsmen in Pietrasanta, Italy enable sculptors to learn the technical aspects of the carving or casting process were supported by the Brian Mercer Charitable Trust.
Otto Beit medal.
For many years the society awarded the Otto Beit medal, named after and funded by the philanthropist Sir Otto Beit. Winners of the medal include:
Sculpture Shock.
Launched in 2013, Sculpture Shock encouraged surprising site-specific spatial interventions in non-traditional spaces outside the confines of a gallery. Three sculptors were awarded £3,000 and a three-month residency in Kensington. The artists then exhibited in one of three environments: Subterranean (the unseen world underneath the city), Ambulatory (without physical confines in movement through space and time) and Historic (an illustrious building in London). Sculpture Shock was supported by private philanthropists.