Cultural partners across Tayside join UK-wide festivities as the Royal Scottish Academy marks 200-year anniversary
In 2026, the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural institutions in Scotland, will be 200 years old.
An independent artist-led organisation with links to every part of Scotland and beyond, the Royal Scottish Academy is planning a unique celebration involving hundreds of artists, partners, galleries and institutions. Today the full programme is launched, with events taking place across Dundee and Perth, in addition to Forfar and Montrose in 2026.
In 2026, the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural institutions in Scotland, will be 200 years old. An independent artist-led organisation with links to every part of Scotland and beyond, the Royal Scottish Academy is planning a unique celebration involving hundreds of artists, partners, galleries and institutions. Today the full programme is launched, with events taking place across Dundee and Perth, in addition to Forfar and Montrose in 2026.
Set to be the widest reaching project ever of its type in Scotland, Celebrating Together features over 100 cultural partners coming together to mark the occasion with their own tailored events, exhibitions, performances, talks and collection rehangs across multiple venues. 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 (Academicians) and New Contemporaries then and now in a series of new and enlightening ways. Throughout the year, the RSA will also open up its Collections to partners across the network, with 100 artworks on loan to over 30 galleries, museums and cultural venues. Celebrating Together is supported by Museums Galleries Scotland.
Highlights
The 200 year anniversary will be marked at the stroke of midnight on 1 January 2026 with the opening of Marina Abramović, Rhythm 10 Revisited at Fergus Purdie Architects’ Window Gallery, Perth (until 21 February). It will feature photographs by Richard Demarco that were made for the RSA exhibition 10 Dialogues: Richard Demarco, Scotland and the European Avant Garde (2010). The images document Marina Abramović’s first performance of Rhythm 10, as part of Demarco’s Edinburgh Arts programme during the Edinburgh Festival in 1973. Both Demarco and Abramović are Honorary Royal Scottish Academicians, and this show will highlight a significant chapter in the story of art in Scotland. The installation will be followed by George Wyllie and the Elephant in the Library (From 21 February).
Among the extensive polar items at Discovery Point and the RRS Discovery - including Captain Scott’s Snow goggles and personal items from the crews - are two portraits by renowned Scottish artist Calum Colvin OBE RSA FRSE. Depicting two of polar exploration’s most recognisable figures, Captain Scott and Roald Amundsen, the portraits were created by photographing the interior of an Antarctic base camp depot containing all the equipment needed for a polar sledging journey, and painting a portrait of each explorer onto the image. These portraits will go on display at Discovery Point from 2 February until the end of 2026.
At Dundee Contemporary Arts Editions Space, a display of print editions by RSA Academicians with links to the city’s artistic scene will be available to view and purchase (16 May - 2 August). Works by Claire Barclay RSA, Ilana Halperin RSA and Toby Paterson RSA will be exhibited, made in the DCA Print Studio as part of DCA’s editions programme using a wide range of printmaking techniques.
The V&A Dundee presents Ushida Findlay: Future-rustic (March - May), celebrating the work of Kathryn Findlay RSA, the first female architect elected to the Royal Scottish Academy. This display brings together rare materials from the Ushida Findlay Architecture archive, showcasing the pioneering collaboration she formed with Eisaku Ushida and tracing the evolution of her architectural career. Discover the creativity, curiosity and courage that shaped Findlay’s practice and celebrate her important contribution to architecture, as a collaborator and an innovator, whose ideas continue to inspire architects today.
At University of Dundee’s Lamb Gallery, Dundee and the RSA (August - October), will celebrate the 50 plus strong Dundee artists and architects who have been elected to the Royal Scottish Academy, from its founding in 1826. This exhibition showcases work by every Dundee RSA, including John Duncan, David Foggie, McIntosh Patrick, Alberto Morrocco and leading contemporary artists such as Will Maclean, Calum Colvin, Frances Pelly, Arthur Watson and RSA President Gareth Fisher.
The Meffan Museum and Art Gallery, Forfar, celebrates the year with Royal Scottish Academy: 200 Years of Art in Angus (30 May - 10 August). The exhibition highlights work from previous Academicians in the Angus collection alongside loans from current Academicians Michael Visocchi RSA and past Academician Ian McKenzie Smith RSA, exploring two centuries of creativity, innovation and influence inspired by the landscapes and communities of Angus.
Events taking place include the annual Lamb Lecture, The William Lamb Studio, Montrose (13 May). This year’s Lecture will focus on William Lamb ARSA’s contributions to and connections with the Royal Scottish Academy. The lecture will be delivered by Norma Atkinson, Chair of the Friends of the William Lamb Studio. For 2026, the RSA will loan Lamb’s work, The Young Fishermen, 1927 (cast by George Mancini (1904-89)) for display at the studio.
The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum will carry a series of labels reflecting on the works they hold by Academicians (throughout the year).
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) at the University of Dundee will run a series of building tours celebrating RSA Academicians (Autumn 2026). DJCAD was the creative starting point for many Academicians, and audiences will be guided on a tour of its Matthew and Crawford Buildings - where countless artistic careers began. They will also present an edition of c.200 door wedges, fabricated by DJCAD technical staff, conceived by Eddie Summerton RSA. The door wedges - titled May your doors of opportunity be wedged open (apart from the fire doors) - are signed by technician Ronnie Oakley and have accompanying documentation which includes a list of all graduates who have represented DJCAD in the RSA New Contemporaries exhibitions since 2009.
As part of the year’s programme, Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust (NHS Tayside) teams up with Scottish NHS Arts programme partners to bring together a nationally touring exhibition of visual artworks created by Academicians, New Contemporaries, Award Winners and Exhibitors from regional health board and national art-in-health collections. The work will be showcased in care settings, creating uplifting and healing clinical environments for patients, visitors and NHS staff.
Colin Greenslade, Director of the RSA, says: "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. This bicentenary celebration offers a fantastic opportunity to spotlight our unique independent heritage, our connections to (and support of) Scotland’s contemporary artists and architects; and to pave the way for the future prosperity of the visual arts in Scotland."
Sandy Wood, Head of Collections at the RSA, says: "2026 will be a joyful celebration that honours the history of the Royal Scottish Academy and looks forward to a promising future. The year-long celebration will help connect and celebrate RSA artists and architects, as well as established and emerging artists who have been part of the RSA family over the last 200 years. We’re delighted that so many cultural organisations across Scotland are joining the party and we’re looking forward to celebrating together in 2026. There’s still plenty of time to join in and we welcome contact with organisations and projects who’d like to be part of this special year."
James Wood, Curator at V&A Dundee, says: "The planned display at V&A Dundee is a chance to highlight Kathryn Findlay’s unique contribution to architecture, as well as recognise her historic role in the Academy’s history as the first woman architect elected. Drawn from the Ushida Findlay archive, this intimate display charts the firm's journey, showing how the architect's local roots converged with a bi-cultural outlook that shattered conventional boundaries of design, space, and possibility."
The Royal Scottish Academy was founded in 1826 to support artists and architects and promote art and architecture in Scotland. They are an independent, non-governmental charitable institution led by Academicians. Royal Scottish Academicians are prominent artists and architects elected by their peers who govern the RSA on a democratic basis. The RSA run a year-round programme of exhibitions, artist opportunities and events from their base at The Mound in Edinburgh. The RSA holds an historic collection recognised as being of National Significance to Scotland.
The full celebrations will kick-off in January 2026. It’s a birthday party not to be missed.