As Origin Stories and Generation, our first exhibitions of the year, draw to a close, we’re looking ahead to a new season of creativity with the launch of RSA New Contemporaries 2026 and a fresh programme of exhibitions and events across Scotland. There’s plenty to explore as we continue to celebrate together.
What’s on at the RSA
Until 8 March
Our current exhibition in the Academicians’ Gallery examines the discipline of working on a restricted scale, with all artworks on view limited only by size.
William Gillies RSA, Head and Shoulders of a Bearded Man
Until 8 March
Origin Stories explores the web of artistic relationships that have manifested through the evolution of art teaching in Scotland. Flowing from tutor to student, the fascinating lineage of influence is traced from the nineteenth century to the present day.
Until 8 March
Richard Murphy RSA brings together the work of seventeen architects who formerly worked at his Edinburgh practice and have since gone on to establish their own successful studios.
28 March – 22 April
Now in its seventeenth year, New Contemporaries offers a unique opportunity to see some of the most promising talent in Scotland in one single, large-scale exhibition in the heart of Edinburgh.
Celebrating Together
From Inverclyde to Aberdeen, March explores artistic legacies, collections and creative connections, celebrating the reach of the Academy through exhibitions across Scotland and beyond.
Closing this month
The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, Edinburgh
145th RSW Open Annual Exhibition
Until 11 March
Scotland’s primary showcase of watercolour and water-based media will feature historical and contemporary work by artists that are or were both Members of the RSW and Academicians of the RSA, including loans from the RSA Collection.
Taigh Chearsabhagh, North Uist
Metaphysical Cosmologies: Meg Rodger
Until 28 March
Meg Rodger, recipient of an RSA Residency for Scotland in 2024, presents work developed during her time at Taigh Chearsabhagh in North Uist.
Keith McIntyre RSA, What Lies Beyond
An Lanntair, Stornoway, Eileanan Siar
Keith McIntyre RSA: What Lies Beyond
Until 28 March
Keith McIntyre RSA transforms the An Lanntair gallery into a congregation of boats, cairns and satellites, each operating as a conveyor of the soul.
Antony Lucchesi: Walking Routes
Until 31 March
RSA New Contemporaries 2023 exhibiting artist Antony Lucchesi presents his new solo exhibition, Walking Routes. The work stems from his time on residency at The Hugo Burge Foundation, blending playful, tongue in cheek installations with thoughtful material experimentation.
Currently on view
Gray's School of Art: 140 Years - Never make a head bigger than a melon
Until 12 April
Celebrating 140 years of artist-led education at Gray’s School of Art, this major exhibition features works by over 50 artists who have studied or worked at Gray’s.
Joyce Cairns PPRSA, Gray's School of Art
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Cosmos: The Art of Observing Space
Until 19 April
This major art and science exhibition celebrates humanity’s enduring fascination with space. Bringing together historic and contemporary works, the exhibition includes pieces by Annie Cattrell RSA and Janette Kerr HRSA.
Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine
Tides of Time
Until 3 May
Tides of Time brings together nine distinguished Academicians who all share a deep connection to Scotland’s maritime heritage. Artwork by John Bellany HRSA, Joan Eardley RSA, Ian Fleming RSA, Ian Hamilton Finlay RSA and Sylvia Wishart RSA are on display, alongside work by current Academicians Joyce W. Cairns PPRSA, Kate Downie RSA, Will Maclean RSA and Arthur Watson PPRSA.
Ilana Halperin: What is Us and what is Earth
Until 17 May
An exhibition of sculpture, drawing and photography from Glasgow based artist Ilana Halperin RSA, whose art seeks to make geological time human; to map the incomprehensible vastness of geological time and the natural world through the knowable familiarity of human experience.
The Gallery at Linlithgow Burgh Halls, West Lothian
Species Morphology: A Living Archive, a solo exhibition by Stuart Mackenzie RSA
Until 17 May
This solo exhibition by Stuart Mackenzie RSA is his first since his 2019 show in the Academicians’ Gallery. Species Morphology investigates ecological and biological aspects of nature, examining the characteristics that distinguish one species from another.
George Wyllie and Arthur Watson
FROM THE CLYDE TO SARAJEVO AND THE VENICE LAGOON
Until 31 May
Curated by Arthur Watson PPRSA, this exhibition shows how customs officer and artist George Wyllie was embraced by the Academy and backed by some of Scotland’s most eminent sculptors.
Art Collection, University of Stirling
Art & Science Exhibition
Until 7 August
This exhibition includes Stuart Mackenzie RSA’s Species (Coelacanth) II, a print on loan from the RSA Collection, and Le Bouc, a painting by Alison Watt RSA, displayed in Scotland for the first time.
The Linklater Art Collection
Until 6 December
This exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of a bequest by Eric and Marjorie Linklater to the University of Aberdeen. An unusual domestic collection, it includes works by Joan Eardley RSA, S. J. Peploe RSA, James Cowie RSA and Stanley Cursiter RSA.
Discovery Point & RRS Discovery, Dundee
Polar Portraits by Calum Colvin RSA
Until 31 December
Discovery Point is home to RRS Discovery; built and launched in Dundee in 1901 for Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton’s first Antarctic voyage. On view throughout 2026 are two portraits by renowned Scottish artist Calum Colvin RSA, depicting two of polar exploration’s most recognisable figures, Captain Scott and Roald Amundsen.
Opening this month
Contemporary Art and Design Festival
6 - 8 March
An Ealdhain Arts Trust presents Fort William’s first contemporary arts festival, bringing together architecture and screen-based works from the RSA collection alongside an immersive sound experience.
Calum Wallis, Far from complete
Calum Wallis: The Ground Shakes
14 March - 15 May
Calum Wallis received an RSA Residency for Scotland in 2022. At An Tobar, he’s presenting new works that take a geological journey across Scotland, using the Highland Boundary and Great Glen fault lines as way markers for an exploration of a land that is in a constant cycle of change.
Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Dunfermline
The Carnegie Travelling Scholarship: A celebration of Andrew Carnegie and the Royal Scottish Academy
23 March – 13 December
For over 120 years, the RSA Carnegie Travelling Scholarship has supported artists in Scotland. This exhibition will showcase the range of artists awarded the scholarship from its inception to the present day.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow
Kelvingrove Celebrates RSA200
Friday 20 March, 12 – 1pm
Join Kelvingrove’s Curator of British Art, Jo Meacock, for a lively highlight tour of the gallery and museum highlighting key artworks by RSA artists, including former Presidents Daniel Macnee PPRSA and James Guthrie PPRSA and our first female painter member, Anne Redpath RSA.
Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith House
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Earth Matters: Seeing Soil through Art
20 March – 1 November
Marking 300 years since the birth of James Hutton, the Edinburgh-born geologist, farmer and thinker who revolutionised our understanding of Earth’s creation, this exhibition features work by Academicians Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Joan Eardley, Ilana Halperin and Graeme Todd.
George Macpherson: Ceòl na Tìr-dhàimh | The Music of Home
27 March – 17 May
First exhibited at the RSA in 2025, this exhibition showcases paintings by George Macpherson RSA. George’s abstract works express the textures and sounds of nature, the magic of the Highland landscape and the warmth of Gaelic song and dance; elements garnered from the artist’s childhood near the River Shin.
The Royal Scottish Academy at 200: a talk by Sandy Wood
Friday 27 March
Our Head of Collections Sandy Wood gives an illustrated talk about the past, present and future of the RSA, ahead of the opening at the museum of an exhibition exploring the work of RSA Honorary Academician, Hugh MacDiarmid.
Shetland Museum & Archives, Lerwick
Outwith | Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay
28 March – 20 June
Outwith will focus on the nine years (1933–1942) poet Hugh MacDiarmid and his wife Valda spent on the Shetland island of Whalsay, exploring how the island influenced their lives and work despite persistent challenges. Featured items will include original manuscripts and personal letters on loan from NLS, visual art from artists Alexander Moffat RSA and Ruth Nicol, and images drawn from private family collections.
Living Colour: Celebrating 200 Years of the Royal Scottish Academy
28 March - 6 September 2026
Living Colour celebrates two centuries of remarkable Scottish artistry. The exhibition features carefully crafted still lifes, elegant portraits, beautiful landscapes and thought-provoking abstracts from 19th and 20th century Scottish art.
NHS Collective
Scottish NHS Arts Collective, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Scottish NHS Arts Partners Touring Exhibition
31 March – 24 June 2026
This touring exhibition will highlight works by RSA Academicians and award winners, showcasing art's powerful connection to health and wellbeing and inviting audiences from across Scotland to engage with and appreciate visual art, creating uplifting and healing environments for patients, visitors and NHS staff.
March marks a moment of transition, as we say farewell to our first exhibitions of the year and welcome fresh perspectives at New Contemporaries. As our RSA200 celebrations continue across the nation, we look forward to sharing more highlights and celebrating Scotland’s artistic past, present and future with you.
