In Conversation with Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA — Art Breath x RSA

Join us for an exclusive conversation at the Royal Society of Arts with Bob and Roberta Smith! The talk will cover Bob and Roberta Smith's artistic journey, his significant work on the power of art and art education, art as texts and slogans on banners to express important notions and advocate for creativity.

Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA

Bob and Roberta Smith is actually one man. He used to collaborate with his sister but she retrained to become a group psychiatric specialist . Bob and Roberta Smith use words painted on canvases and made into signs, written in newspapers and sung in songs to say statements about art and free expression that have influenced generation of teachers and students of arts subjects to embrace the idea that the arts are a human right. Bob and Roberta Smith's painting ‘Make Art Not War’ has become a ubiquitous classic image selling along side Andy Warhol’s Marilyn and Lichtenstien’s ‘Whaam’ in Museum shops. Bob and Roberta’s painting of surgeon David Nott’s interview with BBC journalist Eddie Mair was recently included in the collection of the National Gallery of Wales. Bob and Roberta Smith collaborated in the early 1990's with other artist musicians to create a lively art music scene with his band The Apathy Band. In 2015 Bob and Roberta Smith stood in a general election in the constituency of Michael Gove to directly confront him over his promotion of the Ebacc that has diminished the teaching of art in schools.

Bob and Roberta Smith has shown at Moma PS1 New York, Tate’s Britain, Modern and Liverpool. In 2019 Bob and Roberta Smith had major retrospectives in La Panacee, Montpellier, curated by Nicholas Bouriaud and The Harris Museum Preston. Bob’s exhibition at Tate Modern of The Thamesmeadcodex has been extended until January 2026 Bob is a Royal Academician, and was awarded an OBE in 2017. Bob believes that ‘all schools should be art schools’.

Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA will be in conversation with Nour Saleh in the Benjamin Franklin room at the Royal Society of Arts.

Photo: Bob and Roberta Smith, © Rob Greig