RSA House 250th Anniversary: A gala to remember - RSA Journal Issue 4 2024 - RSA

RSA House 250th anniversary: a gala to remember

Feature

  • Environment
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Behaviour change
Photo of HRH The Princess Royal at the 250th anniversary gala for RSA House in central London.

Summary

On 17 October 2024, guests attended a gala at RSA House to celebrate the House’s 250th Anniversary. Those in attendance spanned the arts, media and policy, and the night included a keynote speech from the RSA’s Patron HRH The Princess Royal, in which she formally launched the new RSA initiative Pay Fellowship Forward. A silent auction was also held to raise funds for the initiative. 

Reading time

Two minutes

On 17 October, RSA Fellows and friends – including high-profile names from the arts, industry, media and policymaking – attended a fundraising gala dinner at our headquarters in London to celebrate the 250th anniversary of RSA House.

The RSA’s Patron, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, was the guest of honour and delivered welcoming remarks to the assembled guests, who included Bake Off judge and former RSA Chair Prue Leith, Eden Project Co-Founder Tim Smit, Director of the Bradford Literature Festival Syima Aslam and newly installed RSA Chair Loyd Grossman, to name just a few.

Guests attended a lively reception in the newly opened Muse at RSA House cocktail bar, where RSA staff were on hand to promote the offerings in a silent auction designed to raise funds for the RSA’s Pay Fellowship Forward initiative. A three-course meal created by Michelin-starred chef (and founder of Silo London, the world’s first zero-waste restaurant) Douglas McMaster then followed in the Great Room.

A portrait of Prue Leith at the 250th anniversary gala for RSA House.

Above top: HRH The Princess Royal greeted by guests
Above: Prue Leith

The Princess Royal used her welcome speech to formally launch Pay Fellowship Forward, which allows current Fellows to contribute towards the membership fees of those who otherwise couldn’t afford them. In her remarks, she drew attention to the fact that RSA House, after two and half centuries, looked better than ever and had remained a steady bulwark of progressive ideals even as so much of London changed around it.

There were additional speeches from RSA Chief Executive Andy Haldane and Loyd Grossman, as well as an engaging address by Chef McMaster, who explained the inspiration for his mission of zero-waste food production – being challenged by zero-waste activist Joost Bakker to “not have a bin”!

Gala-goers stayed late into the evening, bidding on items in the silent auction and illustrating the House’s rich history of conversation, collaboration and celebration. Guests were gifted a bespoke cocktail designed exclusively for Muse at RSA House to take home. All in all, it was a memorable evening, one that showed the RSA House at its vibrant and energetic best and signalled an optimistic outlook for the 250 years to come.

A photo of Syima Aslam in conversation at the newly opened Muse at RSA House bar.

Above: Syima Aslam in conversation at the newly opened Muse at RSA House bar

This feature first appeared in RSA Journal Issue 4 2024.

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