RSA Academicians
Will Maclean MBE RSA (b.1941) is a multi-disciplinary artist and Professor of Fine Art. He was born in Inverness and studied at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen and the British School in Rome. His art is rooted in his knowledge of The Highlands, the people, their history and his own early associations with the sea. He was elected to the RSA in 1978 and became a full Academician in 1991.
Victoria Crowe OBE RSA (b.1945) is a multi-disciplinary artist and teacher. She was born in Kingston upon Thames and studied at Kingston School of Art and the Royal College of Art. She was elected to the RSA in 1987 and became a full Academician in 2005 and is best known for her portrait and landscape painting.
Joyce Cairns PPRSA (b.1947) is an acclaimed painter, teacher and the first woman to be elected president of the Royal Scottish Academy, in 2018. Born in Edinburgh, she studied at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen and at the Royal College of Art. She is renowned for her autobiographical portrait based practice. She was elected to the RSA in 1985 and became a full Academician in 1998.
Kate Downie RSA (b.1958) is a multi-disciplinary artist. She was born in America and studied at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen. Teaching, communal art making and curating are intrinsic to her practice and she was elected as an RSA Academician in 2007.
Matthew Dalziel and Louise Scullion RSA (b.1957 & 1966) are Scottish-based artists working together with sculpture, photography, video and sound as Dalziel + Scullion RSA, exploring new ways to engage with the subjects of the environment and ecology. They have collaborated together since 1993 and were the elected to the RSA as Academicians in 2012.
Edward Summerton RSA (b.1962) is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and lecturer in Contemporary Art Practice at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee. His own practice has expanded from painting into photography, sound works, prints, objects, collaborations and the organisation of events and exhibitions. He was elected to the RSA in 1996 and became a full Academician in 2005.
Kate Whiteford OBE RSA (b.1952) is from Glasgow and studied painting and drawing at Glasgow School of Art and Art History at Glasgow University. Her work spans textiles, video, land art, prints and painting and she is heavily influenced by archaeology. She represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1990 and was elected as an RSA Academician in 2006.
Graham Fagen RSA (b.1966) is from Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art and Kent Institute of Art & Design. His practice encompasses video, performance, sculpture, sound and text, reflecting on how contemporary identity and its associated myths and fictions can be expressed and understood. He was elected as an RSA Academician in 2014 and represented Scotland at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015.
Ronald Forbes RSA (b.1947) is a painter, filmmaker and teacher whose practice reflects the complex visual languages of modern life while referencing mythology and art history. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art, was elected to the RSA in 1996 and became a full Academician in 2005. He is the curator of the RSA200 Moving Image Programme for the bicentenary of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Tracy Mackenna RSA (b.1963) is an artist, curator, scholar and educator whose practice and research contributes to the development of visual arts practice and art education. She is also the curator of The Museum of Loss and Renewal - including residency programmes and publishing. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and was elected as an RSA Academician in 2009.
Rachel Maclean RSA (Elect) (b.1987) is a multi-media artist. Using film, sculpture, printmaking and photography, she creates outlandish characters and fantasy worlds which she uses to delve into politics, society and identity. She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2009 and was elected as an RSA Academician in 2019.
Wendy McMurdo RSA (b.1962) specialises in photography and digital media and her work centres around the relationship between technology and identity. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where she first became interested in photography. She was elected as an RSA Academician in 2018.
Ken Currie RSA (b.1960) is primarily a painter, well known for his unsettling portrayal of the human figure. Born in North Shields, he studied at Glasgow School of Art and was among the group of painters known as the New Glasgow Boys. He was elected as an RSA Academician in 2024.
Jo Ganter RSA (b.1963) works with traditional and new media to produce limited edition etchings, relief prints, and animations. She was born in Yorkshire and moved to Scotland to study at Edinburgh College of Art. Her work is often collaborative, involving musicians to create graphic scores and using sound as inspiration for abstract composition. She was elected to the RSA in 2004 and became a full Academician in 2005.
Murray Grigor OBE HRSA (b.1939) is a filmmaker, writer, artist and curator, elected as an Honorary Academician at the RSA in 2014 for his contribution to the Arts. Throughout his career he has championed art, and particularly architecture. His status has been recognised through numerous international awards and by his tenure as Director, then Chair, of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
RSA Morton Award
An award of £5000 for artists working in lens-based media in Scotland to research, develop and produce a new body of work.
Daniel Cook (b.1980) is a photographer and filmmaker who lives and works in Glasgow. He won the RSA Morton Award in 2019 and from this award he created
Love Letters from Aberdeenshire.
Oana Stanciu (b.1988) is a visual artist from Romania, living and working in Edinburgh. She won the RSA Morton Award in 2021. Stanciu's practice involves sculpture, performance and photography and from the Morton Award she created
Stai în banca ta/ Behave.
Alicia Bruce (b.1979) is a working-class artist, photographer, community collaborator and activist. Her photography sits between documentary and staged imagery with an interest in local and global communities. She studied Photography, Film and Imaging at Edinburgh’s Napier University and won the RSA Morton Award in 2014, from which she created
Sim Scenario.
RSA Barns-Graham Travel Award
An award of £2000 to support travel and research for graduating and post-graduate artists, funded by the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust.
Tim Sandys (b.1974) is a multi-disciplinary artist who studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Glasgow School of Art. He won the RSA Barns-Graham Travel Award
in 2015 and North Platte was created as a result.
The John Kinross Scholarship
An award of £3000 made yearly by the RSA to final year and postgraduate artists and architects to spend 6-12 weeks in Florence to develop their practice.
Abigail Dryburgh (b.1992) was awarded the John Kinross Scholarship in 2015.
The Bargello was made as a result of her time in Florence.
Sophie Lunts (b.1997) is a Fine Art and Philosophy graduate from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.
Il Palimpsesto was created during her time in Florence, as the recipient of the John Kinross Scholarship in 2019.
Harry Casey (b.1987) won the RSA John Kinross Travel Award in 2012.
Nuova Cronica was created as a result of this award.
John Kellock (b.1989) is an artist who makes paintings, videos, and music. He won the RSA John Kinross Travel Award in 2011 and
Shall Not Lovers Weep was created as a result.
Anna Hughes (b.1990) was awarded the RSA John Kinross Travel Scholarship in 2013.
Silk Scarves for a Tomboy was made as a result of this time in Florence.
Rachel McBrinn (b.1991) is an artist and filmmaker based in Edinburgh. Her practice is often collaborative and based upon long term site-responsive and archival research. She was a recipient of the John Kinross Scholarship in 2014.
Luigi Mecocci, via dei Velluti, Firenze was created as a result of the scholarship.
RSA Residencies for Scotland
An artist-led scheme providing valuable research and development opportunities for visual artists.
Katri Walker (b.1978) is a visual artist specialising in video installation. She was awarded a residency in 2011 at Stills in Edinburgh as part of the RSA Residencies for Scotland programme.
Rapture was made as a result of the residency.
