Glasgow Print Studio hosting RSA 200 anniversary exhibition

Scotland's visual arts landscape is marking major historical milestones through gallery exhibitions, printmaking retrospectives, and public art installations across multiple regions. At the heart of these cultural commemorations, the Glasgow Print Studio is hosting a prominent bicentenary exhibition, highlighting both long-standing institutional partnerships and the evolving world of contemporary Scottish art.

The RSA 200 exhibition brings together recent and new works by four Royal Scottish Academy Academicians—Robbie Bushe, Rachel Maclean, Barry McGlashan, and Caroline Walker—at the first-floor gallery. According to Glasgow Print Studio commercial director James Murphy, the exhibition serves as an exciting opportunity to introduce audiences to artists who take an arresting individual path through the intersection of imagery and stories. Murphy stated via the Glasgow Times that the showcase celebrates the gallery's long-standing relationship with the Academy, describing collaboration and dialogue between institutions as foundational to artistic development and public engagement.

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"This exhibition is an exciting opportunity for us to introduce our audience to the work of four remarkable artists and RSA Academicians, each of whom takes an arresting individual path through the intersection of imagery and stories, and into realities that may be constructed, staged, unstable, or ambiguous."

James Murphy, Commercial Director at Glasgow Print Studio, via Glasgow Times

The featured creators employ diverse media to interrogate narrative, representation, and everyday life. Edinburgh-based painter Robbie Bushe presents narrative paintings developed during residencies at Marchmont House and Merchiston Castle School, exploring community and shared spaces. Rachel Maclean exhibits her green-screen video work exploring early motherhood, while Barry McGlashan presents dream-like paintings blurring reality, memory, and folklore. Caroline Walker focuses on the everyday lives and labour of women, highlighting the essential work of early-years educators.

Printmaking milestones extend beyond Glasgow. Further north, a milestone archive search has brought decades of regional printmaking into focus. According to the Ross-shire Journal, a new exhibition celebrating forty years of printmaking in the Highlands is running at the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Highland Print Studio director Alison McMenemy described revisiting the studio's past as a joy, noting that the project provided an opportunity to reconnect with founders and trawl through photo archives documenting decades of community outreach.

"It has been a real treat to look back through the archive and bring the spotlight back onto some exciting and sometimes challenging times."

Alison McMenemy, Highland Print Studio Director, via Ross-shire Journal

Public art and institutional history intersect elsewhere in Scotland, exemplified by community tributes in Fife. According to The Herald, artist Celie Byrne completed a vibrant three-floor mural at the Duncan Institute in Cupar to honour library benefactor Elizabeth Duncan, who left a bequest in the nineteenth century to build a mechanic's institute. Susan Allan, OnFife Libraries' facilities and services supervisor, expressed delight via The Herald that the iconic building continues to serve the public in a manner that would surely please its original benefactor.

Exhibitions at the Glasgow Print Studio have historically served as a springboard for radical departures among prominent Scottish creators. As reported by The National, "New Glasgow Boy" Adrian Wiszniewski previously utilised the Trongate venue to debut a major series of landscapes titled Some Views: Scotland and New Zealand. Funded by Creative Scotland, that expansive project examined cultural identity, international parallels, and the political implications of physical boundaries through nearly thirty new works.

Cultural institutions across the country continue to plan commemorative programming, public workshops, and archival projects exploring visual heritage.