Cultural partners across the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland join UK-wide festivities as the Royal Scottish Academy marks 200-year anniversary

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. The full programme is revealed today, with events taking place across the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland 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

Past, Present, Future: The Royal Scottish Academy in the Scottish Borders at Hawick Museum and Galleries (Live Borders, 27 June – 5 October) celebrates the relationship between the Academy and the region. Past Academicians who have a relationship to the Borders including Anne Redpath and Tom Scott are on show alongside today’s leading artists including Victoria Crowe, George Donald, Jake Harvey and Andrew Cranston, and contemporary voices including David Cass and Richard Goldworthy.

In Berwick-upon-Tweed, The Granary Gallery presents Joan Eardley: The Sea at Catterline (6 June - 11 October). Eardley was one of the most original and admired British artists of her generation, noted for her portraiture of street children in Glasgow and her landscapes of Catterline, a fishing village on the north east coast of Scotland. The exhibition features work on loan from the Royal Scottish Academy, The Fleming Collection and Aberdeen Art Gallery from the period between 1958 and 1962 when she was arguably at the peak of her creative powers.

At ZEMBLA gallery, Hawick, Jim Pattison RSA presents REDIVIDER (opening 2 May, then by appointment until 30 May). Describing ‘something that divides or apportions again’, Pattison’s prints and paintings are based on collages made from images crafted from Frieze and Tate magazines.

And in a collaboration between the Hugo Burge Foundation in Duns and the Royal Scottish Academy Visual Art Residency, an Academician / artist associated with the RSA will be selected to respond to Elizabeth Blackadder RSA’s Self Portrait with Cat. They will spend time with the chosen work, and create artwork in response to the painting.

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.’"

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.