Exclusive:'Biggest celebration of its kind' for the Royal Scottish Academy's 200th anniversary with over 100 events
The RSA is celebrating its 200th anniversary
It was founded in Edinburgh in 1826 by a group of artists and architects looking to create a less elitist organisation.
Now, more than 100 venues and galleries across Scotland and beyond are to host exhibitions to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) in the largest ever celebration of its kind in Scotland.
Major exhibitions featuring work by the RSA’s 500 academicians and other works and venues with links to the RSA will take place across the country, from Edinburgh to Orkney and beyond.
A series of major exhibitions will also take place at the RSA in Edinburgh, from new solo shows to group exhibitions that showcase the RSA and its members, as well as other artists.
Throughout the year, the RSA, which holds an historic collection recognised as being of national significance to Scotland, will also open up its collections to partners across the network. A total of 100 artworks will be on loan to over 30 galleries, museums and cultural venues.
Celebrations start at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2026 with the opening of Marina Abramović, Rhythm 10 Revisited at Fergus Purdie Architects’ Window Gallery in Perth, featuring photographs by arts impresario Richard Demarco.
Highlights include two exhibitions at the RSA of contemporary academicians. Joyce W. Cairns: A Personal Odyssey celebrates an important voice in Scottish art, as the first woman to be elected president of the RSA, while Barbara Rae: Charting South chronicles the landscapes and locations of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
At Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, a show highlighting the work of Dame Elizabeth Blackadder- the first woman elected to both the RSA and the Royal Academy of Arts - will open in early summer. RSA 200 at Glasgow Print Studio separately celebrates four artists and academicians: Robbie Bushe, Rachel Maclean, Barry McGlashan and Caroline Walker.
The V&A Dundee will present Ushida Findlay: Future-rustic from March to May, celebrating the work of Kathryn Findlay, the first female architect elected to the RSA.
Sandy Wood, head of collections at the RSA, said: “There's a real local, national and international identity to the Royal Scottish Academy, and there's an ambition that has been there since the beginning to connect Scotland and Scottish art, culture and architecture to the wider world.
“We had a real desire for our 200th anniversary to do something that reached out beyond the walls of the gallery, that reached out beyond Edinburgh, that embraced and connected all those different stories that our academicians have been part of over the last 200 years and make what the RSA is about - our identity, our role in Scottish art, culture and architecture - accessible to many more people than would otherwise be possible.”
Two paintings by John Bellany will go on display in Fife for the first time at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther. John Bellany: Anchored dives into the artist’s unique perspective on the fishing industry and communities of the east of Scotland.
A further exhibition of Bellany’s work will take place at the John Gray Centre Museum, Haddington, curated by Helen Bellany, wife of John, and Alexander Moffat, a life-long friend.
At the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney, artist and educator Erin McQuarrie will explore the architectural qualities and poetic sensibilities of textiles in her solo show The Scale of Things, when she will present a new body of work inspired by her RSA residency at Linkshouse, Birsay in Orkney.
Meanwhile, in Dumfries, Gracefield Arts Centre will present William Littlejohn RSA: In a New Light, an exhibition of over 40 works selected from the William Littlejohn Bequest. This exhibition explores the life and work of the highly distinguished Scottish artist, while the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum in Dunfermline will host The Carnegie Travelling Scholarship: A Celebration of Andrew Carnegie and the RSA.
Scotland’s universities will also be taking part in the celebrations. A multi-layered exhibition on perceptions of Scottish identity and culture will be held at The Wardlaw Museum at the University of St Andrews, featuring representative loans from RSA collections.
The University of Stirling will explore the links of art and science through work by RSA artists, including Alison Watt and Stuart MacKenzie. Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at The University of Dundee will host a number of building tours, allowing visitors behind-the-scenes to learn about how the college has shaped many careers and lives of RSA academicians.
Meanwhile, Scottish artists and artists with a strong connection to the country will also be celebrated in a series of events south of the Border and beyond.
The Granary Gallery in Berwick-upon-Tweed will celebrate the life and work of Joan Eardley in partnership with the Fleming Collection, while The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol will host its own Celebrating Together exhibition, with work by artists including Anne Redpath and Ian Fleming.
Two works on loan from the RSA by Phoebe Anna Traquair will go on display at Fundación Mapfre, Madrid, in the landmark exhibition, Pathways to Pre-Raphaelitism. The Poet's Dream by John Faed is on loan to the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, in an exhibition centred on the art and science of sleep.
An interactive map on the RSA’s website will allow the public to browse the full programme by location.
Colin Greenslade, director of the RSA, said: “This ambitious anniversary celebration will bring partners and communities together to celebrate the cultural history and present influence and connections of the Royal Scottish Academy across Scotland and beyond. The RSA has long supported art and architecture in Scotland and, in its 200th year, is a dynamic institution run by artists, for artists.”
Jane Rowlands, head of museums and collections with Glasgow Life, said: “Being part of a nationwide programme that celebrates Scottish art and architecture, and brings inspiration into communities, is something we are excited about. This anniversary is a chance to highlight the powerful and positive role culture plays in people’s lives and the many ways it enriches our city.”
Celebrating Together is supported by Museums Galleries Scotland.
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