The Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture is delighted to announce the launch of the RSA RESIDENCIES FOR SCOTLAND programme. Now in its third year, the programme invites artists to apply to the RSA for a funded residency position at one of twenty-eight partner arts venues across Scotland. Over the two years, the project has distributed over £100k to artists and venues, providing 35 artist residencies and collaborating with 31 venues from Selkirk to Shetland. The project is now run as a biennale opportunity and is funded by the Royal Scottish Academy with support from the Friends of the RSA and the Barns-Graham Charitable Trust.

The RSA Residencies for Scotland provides valuable research and residency opportunities for artists whilst forging important networks with centres of artistic excellence across Scotland, ranging from traditional residency venues to specialised production facilities. The emphasis continues to be on enabling a period of research, development and production, as well as on the acquisition and exchange of new skills and experiences. Previous successful applicants have spent time developing their practice at centres all over Scotland – from The Haining in Selkirkshire to WASPS artists’ studios in Shetland and out to Taigh Chearsabhagh in North Uist – the range of residency centres is extensive and each offers the artists to develop new skill sets, meet new people in the Arts Industry and experience a new landscape or environment.

Colin Greenslade, Director of the RSA comments: “The Residencies programme is probably Scotland’s most extensive and far-reaching residency programme offered by an arts organisation in Scotland. We are thrilled to be continuing the project and our close contact with the artists involved ensures that the evaluation process is comprehensive, allowing us to accurately measure the benefit of the initiative to artists in Scotland. As an artist-run organisation the RSA is primarily concerned with developing relationships with artists and host partner venues. As well as featuring in our own extensive exhibition programme, we encourage that artists premier the results of their research with their hosts across the breadth of Scotland, in the communities where the work is made. These premieres of new work reinforce to urban and rural communities across Scotland that the research made in their locale can be seen and celebrated there first! Continuing to develop and improve the Residencies for Scotland is very exciting for us and we hope it strikes a meaningful chord with artists & architects in Scotland who, at the moment especially, need our continued support”.

The approved partner venues are:

· An Cridhe, Isle of Coll

· An Talla Solais, Ullapool

· Atlas, Isle of Skye

· The Barns-Graham Charitable Trust at Balmungo House, by St Andrews

· Bothy Project, Cairngorms

· Cromarty Arts Trust

· Deveron Arts, Huntly

· Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio

· Edinburgh Printmakers

· Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop

· Glasgow Print Studio

· Glasgow Sculpture Studios

· The Haining Charitable Trust, Borders

· Highland Print Studio, Inverness

· Hospitalfield Trust House, Arbroath

· Moray Art Centre

· North Lands Creative Glass, Lybster

· Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen

· The Pier Art Centre, Orkney

· RSA Collections Department, Edinburgh

· Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden

· Stills, Edinburgh

· Street Level Photoworks

· Taigh Chearsabhagh, North Uist

· Timespan, Helmsdale

· WASPS Artists Studios (Glasgow, Newburgh, Shetland)

Further information on the RSA RESIDENCIES FOR SCOTLAND programme, including information on how to apply, is available on www.royalscottishacademy.org

Source: RSA