We are the Society of Scottish Artists.
We’re the largest artist-led organisation in Scotland. We lead a diverse and ambitious programme and invite artists based anywhere in the world to join us.
OPEN CALL: SSA 127th ANNUAL EXHIBITION | GENERAL SUBMISSIONS
The SSA invites both members and non-members to apply to be part of the 127th SSA Annual Exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy, one of the largest shows of contemporary art in Scotland.
Selected works will be exhibited alongside installation, site-specific and performance art, resulting in an invigorating show. The exhibition is produced and supported entirely by artists with no public funding, and the SSA plays a unique and vital role in supporting and bringing together artists working across a wide range of very diverse disciplines.
The exhibition will take place at the Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 2EL from early January – February 2026.
Entry deadline: Monday 15 September 2025, 12 noon
Image: SSA 126th Annual Exhibition, 2024. Photograph Julie Howden
OPEN CALL: SSA 127th ANNUAL EXHIBITION | PROPOSALS & INSTALLATIONS
The SSA Annual Exhibition is one of the largest contemporary art exhibitions in Scotland. The exhibition is produced entirely by artists with no public funding and will take place at the Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL from early January – February 2026.
This call is for submissions for an installation, site specific work, performance and proposals for an unrealised work.
All SSA Members (Artist, Graduate, Student and Professional) are invited to apply to the Proposal & Installations open call. We encourage submissions of ambitious new artwork created specifically for the space, or existing artwork that is repurposed for the 127th Annual Exhibition.
Entry deadline: Monday 11 August 2025, 12 noon
Image: SSA 126th Annual Exhibition, 2024. Photograph Julie Howden
LIFE WITH WATER | SSA AT AN TOBAR
We are delighted to be collaborating with An Tobar, Isle of Mull for the first time on a new exhibition with the theme of Life With Water: A wave of creativity in response to the Ocean.
On the Hebridean Isle of Mull, where land and water evaporate into one another, we gather to create, to question, to reimagine.
Life With Water is a call to witness and to wonder at the depth of our love for the sea. In response to UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, artists converge to explore the vast, fragile world beneath the waves.
Exhibition : 18 August – 24 October 2025
Image: A Measure of Whales, collage print on fabric, 2023 ©Kyra Clegg (Professional Member)
NEW GRADUATE AWARDS 2025
“It is with great pleasure that we announce this years recipients of the SSA New Graduate Award. This year, the council have been scouring the country’s degree shows in search of graduates whose work embodies both the spirit of Scottish Contemporary Art and the aims of the SSA.
The winners of the SSA New Graduate Award will be given the opportunity to showcase their work in our Annual Exhibition at the start of 2026 as well as two year’s free Graduate membership to the society; all this to ensure they are well on their journey of becoming Scotland’s next generation of contemporary artists.”
– Frank To, SSA Co-President.
The selected pieces will be on display at the SSA’s 127th Annual Exhibition which will be held at The Royal Scottish Academy, January – February 2026.
Image: Annabelle Pelaez, Shrinking, Ink and brush pens on calico, 2025.
NEW PROFESSIONAL ARTIST MEMBERS 2025
“The Co-Presidents, Co-Vice Presidents and Council have the honour and pleasure to welcome our newly elected Professional Members for 2025.
The newly elected members have been selected in recognition of their ongoing commitment and dedication to their professional contemporary art practices. They are also to be highly commended for their continued involvement with the Society of Scottish Artists.
Overall, they are not only part of a growing international collective but of a close community of artists whose main drives are to continue showing the best of Scottish contemporary art. We, the SSA, will continue to support and encourage our new Professional Members to further push their practice in the coming years.”
Luke Vinnicombe & Frank To | SSA Co-Presidents