The country’s leading contemporary artists and architects will join forces for this year’s annual RSA exhibition.
The exhibition features a wide variety of painting, sculpture, filmmaking, photography, installation and architecture across all thirteen upper and lower galleries in the RSA Building on The Mound, Edinburgh.
Following a historical change to the RSA Annual Exhibition format in 2010, the exhibition now comprises of work by RSA members and invited artists, who feature in a large curated element within the exhibition.
The RSA annual exhibition will take place this month Photo:Findlay McWalter
This year’s convenors are Doug Cocker RSA and James Castle RSA (acting as joint convenors) and Ric Russell RSA (Elect) as deputy convener, looking after the architecture submissions.
The curated element will be titled The Artist’s Studio and features twenty-two invited artists selected by the convenors from the RSA membership, the broader Scottish arts community and beyond.
Invited artists will present a significant body of work to the exhibition, utilising key areas in the gallery space.
The exhibition also showcases work by RSA Members, who can submit up to four works, and is a testament to the enduring diversity of artistic practice throughout the length and breadth of Scotland.
Works by the winners of RSA Morton, Barns Graham and Littlejohn awards will also be on display, plus further curated works from the RSA Collections.
Doug Cocker said: “James and I have together visited around twenty invited artists, in their studios, from London to the north of Scotland. We also have artists from New York and from Japan.
“All are either Scottish or with a direct connection to Scotland. The studios and the artists’ perceptions of working spaces have proven to be as fascinating as they are diverse.
“It’s been hard work. We have had to be very involved in terms of organising the selected work, planning the spaces, ensuring receipt of text and documentary studio images from the artists but things are now beginning to come together.
I would hope and expect the Annual Exhibition to benefit from this added dimension. It seems to me that the public has always had a curiosity about artists’ studios and what happens within them. I certainly do.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by a full colour publication and most works will be available for purchase.
The RSA is part of the Own Art scheme, offering interest-free credit to buy contemporary art.
“We are very pleased to this year announce Turcan Connell as sponsors of the 186th RSA Annual Exhibition. We would also like acknowledge the support of the Friends of the RSA and our catalogue sponsors, Lyon & Turnbull.”
The 186th annual exhibition will take place from April 28 to June 6.
