Our Annual Exhibition is the most extensive yearly presentation of contemporary art and architecture in Scotland.
Having been a mainstay of the RSA's calendar since its inception 198 years ago, the Annual Exhibition has evolved over the years, providing a platform for Scottish art alongside international artists, often including topical or political elements, to give an uncensored, independent voice to artists.
Building on the success of the online experience developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which enabled more works to be selected and extended the ways for audiences to discover and engage with artworks, all pre-selected works will again automatically be included in the online exhibition. As usual, only those selected at the final physical selection will be shown on the gallery walls.
For this year’s architecture open call, a theme has been set to explore how a body of work might intersect, collide or align around an area of focus. Submissions are invited for works that respond to the theme of ‘Critical Action’. In the face of an ever-growing climate emergency and rising inequalities we welcome submissions that harness the potential of people, locality, materiality, and environment to positively shape our urban, rural and societal landscapes. We also invite new and developing work that challenges the status quo and ‘imagines what is possible’ (Bell Hooks, 2012).
There is also the opportunity to submit work as a solely online presentation. These works will only be considered for online selection and open up an opportunity for more experimental practices, for example documentation of installed site-specific work or extended digital video content.
More information for architects
