The Pineapple Chicken Blog

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the first every post of Pineapple Chicken *crazy chicken dance around the room*. I am very excited to share my new adventures with you as I turn 28!

Adventures, food and deep dives

The aim of the blog is to provide a snippet of all the amazing things London has to offer. I will try and do something exciting each weekend, whether in London or travelling and provide a review here.  I am open to any suggestions that anyone might have or recommend, so please comment below!

As well as having fun in London and beyond, we must eat! Therefore, I will also be incorporating some food reviews (I am hoping to work through the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand London List), but it will be from the perspective of whether there are any yummy vegetarian options. For all the omnivores out there, I will be relying on friends and family on their comments.

As I have aged, I have found that I have less and less time to spend time on my interests and passions. Having realised this, one of the main reasons I decided to keep a blog was so that I would be able to research and do a “deep dive” on topics I really care about and hopefully you will engage in these discussions too :). For more details  about me and the blog, please visit the “About” page.

Now, without further ado, let us begin with the weekend beginning 12th August 2017.

Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition

I was very lucky to start my adventures on Saturday 12th August relatively dry given the torrential rains we had experienced during the week in London, though you might spot some ominous grey clouds in my photos!

I had planned to visit the Royal Academy Arts for their annual Summer Exhibition. For those who would like to visit, please note that it ends on the 20th August. If you would like to purchase tickets you can find them here but you better hurry!

An adult ticket costs £15 with gift aid, if you have an Art Fund Pass it costs £13. I highly recommend purchasing the Art Fund Pass because it gives you free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions. I have found it invaluable and absolutely LOVE IT. It has encouraged me to explore art exhibitions outside my comfort zone as I try to maximise my use of the pass. Currently, if you order an Art Pass the are offering a free graphic tote too (until 20th August)! TOTE Life! 

The Royal Academy of Arts is situated near Piccadilly Circus tube station (Piccadilly and Bakerloo line) in the wonderfully elegant Burlington House. If you are planning your day, there is a lot to do around the area as well, including the iconic Fortnum and Mason, as well as cute little market – Piccadilly Market which are just across the road!

My cousin recommended the exhibition having gone herself. I did not realise that there was so much history behind the Summer Exhibition (250 years).  The exhibition’s aim is to celebrate young artists of today and is open to all submissions. According to their website, it is one of the largest open submission exhibition in the world. This really gives you an idea of the sheer size and number of art works that is exhibited (over 1,200).

If you do get a chance to visit, I would suggest to purchase a printed list of works for £3.50 at the shop before entering the exhibition and bring a pen! All the artwork is labelled with a number instead of the usual didactic panels as you would expect. I believe this was to partially aid traffic flow, though, I thought this was a shame because I would have loved to have delved deeper into my favourite pieces and understand what inspired the young artist’s work. All the artwork is available for sale so you might want to bring your cheque book or a credit card with a large limit! (though most were already sold as indicated by the red dots).

In my opinion, the number of works was the best and worst attribute. It is truly phenomenal to see different mediums of art, from paintings to sculptures. However, I did find it at times, overwhelming and queried the quality of some pieces, though that might be due to my untrained eyes. Nonetheless, there were some memorable pieces (which I couldn’t afford or were not for sale).

Overall, the Summer Exhibition gets a 4 out 5 pineapples from me! There was so much to see and it does leave you feeling inspired by the talent of all the young artists. I recommend taking your time, enjoy a glass of bubbly or G&T (there is a bar inside) and embrace all the beauty and quirkiness it has to offer!

Next posts will be the new Whale Exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London and Paris! As always, do comment on any suggestions on where I should go or what you thought of the blog!

With Sweet and Sour Love,

Pineapple Chicken

PS. More photos of the day will be posted my instagram @pineapplechicken_ so keep an eye out!