Appointed convener, Royal Scottish Academy Annual 2024

In 2023, I was appointed as Convener for the 2024 Royal Scottish Academy’s 198th Annual Exhibition which took place in the RSA Galleries in Edinburgh from 11th May to 16th June 2024. Appointed as Convener, I had the responsibility to curate, shape the vision of and oversee the selection and installation of this key event. The final show was ranged across all galleries and floors of the RSA and was made up of 418 works in total, from a variety of different mediums.

The final exhibition consisted of three distinctive parts. The first element consisted of a selection from an open submission. In excess of two thousand works – national and international – were submitted with approximately 250 works finally selected. The second element was the inclusion of works from five artists specially invited by the Convener to be included in the 2024 Annual. The final element was made up of works submitted by RSA Academicians. These three elements came together in the curation of the show, under the broad theme of ‘voices’ (see Convener’s essay for further elaboration on the theme).

A significant part of the Annual is the portfolio of awards given to selected artists and this year, there were awards given out from a wide range of sponsors. Further details of the funders and sponsors can be found in the illustrated catalogue produced for the event (full pdf provided). During the run of the exhibition, several public engagement events were scheduled to reach existing and new audiences. These events included: a Convener’s Tour, a Patrons Tour, an Architecture Discussion event, a Family Art Day, a private view event for collectors and a private view event for exhibitors, all designed to give exposure and insight into the construction of the exhibition.

• Organisation