The dates for the Royal College of Art’s annual postcard-sized art exhibition and fundraising sale, has been announced. RCA Secret is taking place in March 2013 at the College’s new campus in Battersea. RCA Secret is a popular annual contemporary art exhibition and lucky dip consisting of original postcard-sized artworks, made and donated by many well known contemporary artists, designers and illustrators, plus up-and-coming students from the Royal College of Art.  For one day only, all the cards are sold to the public with every postcard costing just £45, regardless of whether it has been made by  Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst or a young emerging art student.

What’s the Secret?  Each postcard is signed on the back, so collectors don’t know the identity of the artist until they have made their purchase. Although it can help to know the difference between a drawing by Tracey Emin and a sketch by Peter Blake, a lot of it is down to pure luck and many collectors don’t realise whose work they have chosen until they hand over their cash on the sale day.

The RCA is grateful to receive enormous support from hundreds of leading international artists and designers who contribute each year. The last event in 2011 received a record number of 3,000 original postcards by such renowned names as Yoko Ono, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Sir Paul Smith and Nick Park. Artists may choose to paint, draw, sketch or even produce a 3-d sculpture as long as it’s postcard-sized.

Potential collectors will be able to view all the postcards in person at the RCA gallery in Battersea or on-line at www.rca.ac.uk/secret from 14 March.  All postcards go on sale for one day only on Saturday 23 March on a first come, first served basis, with a maximum of four cards per person. There will also be a raffle for collectors to win a position in the first 50 places in the queue.

Over the last 19 years the event has raised over £1 million for the RCA Fine Art Student Award Fund, helping hundreds of emerging artists at a formative stage in their careers. RCA Secret 2013 is being exhibited for the first time in the College’s new Dyson building in Battersea which houses the studios and facilities of the Fine Art programmes.

The Royal College of Art is the world’s most influential postgraduate university of art and design. Specialising in teaching and research, the RCA offers the degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD across the disciplines of fine art, applied art, design, communications and humanities. There are over 1,200 masters and doctoral students and more than a hundred professionals interacting with them – including scholars, leading art and design practitioners, along with specialists, advisors and distinguished visitors.