ABOUT THE AWARD
The RSA William Littlejohn Award (£2000) for Excellence and Innovation in Water-based media. The award is funded by The William Littlejohn Bequest and administered by the Royal Scottish Academy and consists of:
- Monetary award to research, develop and produce a new body of work in a water-based medium.
- Acquisition of work into the prestigious RSA Permanent Collections.
ELIGIBILITY
- Entrants must be working in water-based media (any pigment mixed with water).
- Entrants must be born or have been resident in Scotland for at least 3 years.
- In the case of students applying, entrants must either be graduating in 2025 or currently studying at postgraduate level at one of the following art schools in Scotland (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and UHI).
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
- Entry conditions and requirements must be strictly adhered to or applications may be rejected.
- The decision of the adjudicators is final and no correspondence can be entered into
- The award should not be used as a capital grant.
- The award winner will be announced by end of August 2025.
- The award should be completed by May 2026.
- The winner will exhibit a selection of resulting work in the Royal Scottish Academy the following year in consultation with the Academy. Further arrangements will be determined in consultation with the winner.
- The Royal Scottish Academy reserves the right to accession one representative work from the artist into the RSA Permanent Collection.
- The copyright of all works remain with the artist but it is a condition of entry that the Royal Scottish Academy reserves the right of reproduction of all submitted and resultant works for publicity/educational/reference purposes in connection with the award.
- Personal information supplied by applicants on registration/application forms will be held securely by the Royal Scottish Academy in accordance with The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
APPLICATION
This application will require the following:
- Contact information
- Artist Statement (max. 100 words, about your artistic practice)
- Up to 5 key artistic achievements (max. 150 words, noting projects/exhibitions/awards or other achievements)
- Summary of post-secondary education (date commenced, date completed, course details & qualifications; institution)
- 25 word summary of proposed project
- Desired travel destination (if applicable)
- Proposed project start and end date
- Proposal (max. 300 words, about your proposed project)
- Supporting visual material (max. 6 JPEGs)
CRITERIA
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Coherency of proposed project and the potential to further develop and enhance practice.
- Quality of visual material - please note that a crucial part of the selection process is based on the review of applicants visual material and as such we strongly encourage applicants to submit the highest quality visual material.
DEADLINE
The deadline for applying to this award is Sunday 22 June 2025, 5pm.
The MacRobert Art Award for Painting (£20,000) provides a research opportunity for a fine art painter. The aim of the award is to provide the chance for a committed painter whose circumstances have, for whatever reason, made it difficult to focus upon and develop their artistic talent. Whilst the award is financial, the real reward is the opportunity that the funds can directly, or indirectly provide/allow.
The award is funded by the MacRobert Trust and administered by the Royal Scottish Academy and consists of:
- A monetary award to fund a period of research and development for a new body of work within a 12-month period.
- Exhibition of selected completed work, along with other RSA winners, at the Royal Scottish Academy at a later date (to be confirmed in discussion with the RSA).
ELIGIBILITY
- Entrants must be painters who are at least 10 years out of art school or can demonstrate at least 10 years of substantive practice.
- Entrant's practice must be predominantly based in fine art painting; this can be in any medium or subject.
- Entrants must have been born or are currently living in Scotland (and have been for at least 3 years consecutively).
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
- Entry conditions and requirements must be strictly adhered to or applications may be rejected.
- Shortlisted artists will be invited to present their project to the Panel of Adjudicators at the RSA on Monday 14 July 2025.
- Shortlisted artists will be announced via RSA social media channels and website, the outcome is embargoed until then.
- The decision of the adjudicators is final and no correspondence can be entered into. Due to the high volume of applications individual feedback cannot be provided.
- The award funds can be used for anything that directly enables the winner to produce paintings (e.g. studio time, travel, living costs that allow the winner to take the necessary time out to create/ produce); but the award should not be put towards framing costs and capital investment (e.g. camera, computer software, new studio kit).
- The award winner will be announced in Summer 2025.
- The award should be completed by the end of 2026.
- The RSA will have regular contact with the winner during the 12-month period.
- The RSA will assess what the winner has achieved (against original intent) at the 12-month mark and judge success, or otherwise, reporting to the MacRobert Trust with its assessment, on completion.
- The MacRobert Trust will have first refusal rights to purchase work produced as a direct result of the award.
- The winner will have the opportunity to exhibit selected resulting work in a group exhibition at a future date. Further arrangements will be made in consultation with the winner.
- The winner will be expected to submit an evaluation report, including images, to the RSA within 6 weeks of completion of the award. This report will be shared with MacRobert Trustees.
- The copyright of all works remains with the artist, but it is a condition of entry that the Royal Scottish Academy reserves the right of reproduction of all submitted and resultant works for publicity/educational/reference purposes in connection with the award and opportunities programme.
- Personal information supplied by applicants on application forms will be held securely by the Royal Scottish Academy in accordance with The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- The RSA does not have the expertise to offer tax advice for individuals in receipt of awards and funding. Applicants are advised to visit HMRC's website for information about receiving funding, awards, bursaries and grants, or consult with a qualified expert. The following information provided by Art Quest on the subject may be of help - https://artquest.org.uk/artlaw-article/taxation-of-prizes-and-grants-4/
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Evidence that the applicant’s practice would truly benefit from the opportunities that the funding might bring.
- Coherency of proposed research and the potential to further develop and enhance their practice.
- Strong evidence the artist’s practice falls within the discipline of painting and mid-career status.
- Quality of the supporting visual material submitted *
* Please note that review of the applicant’s visual material is a crucial part of the selection and as such applicants are strongly encouraged to submit the highest quality visual material that does justice to the original artwork.
The online application will require applicants to submit the following:
- Artist statement (max 100 words).
- Up to 5 key artistic achievements (max 150 words).
- Summary of post school education.
- 25-word summary of proposed research and production.
- A description of how this support will impact your artistic development (max 100 words).
- Proposal (max 300 words) which gives an idea on what the artist hopes to achieve.
- CV.
- A rough budget to show the use of funds.
- Up to 6 visuals of works already produced.
Deadline: Sunday 18 May 2025 , 5pm.
The RSA Blackadder Houston Mid-Career Travel Award (£5,000) provides a travel and research opportunity for a fine art painter. The aim of the award is to enable a committed, mid-career, painter to travel internationally, to a location of their choosing, to facilitate the research, development and production of new work. The award is funded by the RSA Blackadder Houston Bequest, administered by the Royal Scottish Academy.
ELIGIBILITY
- Entrants must be mid-career painters who are at least 15 years out of art school or can demonstrate at least 15 years of substantive practice.
- Entrants must not currently be studying.
- The entrant's practice must be predominantly based in painting; this can be in any medium or subject.
- Entrants must have been born or are currently living in Scotland (and have been for at least 3 years consecutively).
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
- Entry conditions and requirements must be strictly adhered to or applications may be rejected.
- The decision of the adjudicators is final and no correspondence can be entered into.
- The award funds should be used for travel, in order to carry out new research, development and production of artwork and art practice.
- The award should not be put towards framing costs and capital investment (e.g. camera, computer software, new studio kit).
- The award winner will be announced by end of August 2025 and the award should be completed by end of August 2026.
- The RSA will have regular contact with the winner during the 12-month period.
- The winner will be expected to submit a short report to the RSA which may be shared with the Blackadder Houston Trustees. This report must be submitted within 6 weeks of completion of the award.
- The copyright of all works remains with the artist but it is a condition of entry that the Royal Scottish Academy reserves the right of reproduction of all submitted and resultant works for publicity/educational/reference purposes in connection with the award and the opportunities programme.
- Personal information supplied by applicants on application forms will be held securely by the Royal Scottish Academy in accordance with The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Someone that the judges consider would truly benefit from the opportunities that the funding might bring.
- Coherency of proposed research and the potential to further develop and enhance their practice.
- Strong evidence the artist’s practice falls within the discipline of painting.
- Quality of visual material submitted *
* Please note that a crucial part of the selection process is based on the review of applicant's visual material and as such we strongly encourage applicants to submit the highest quality visual material.
The online application will require applicants to submit the following:
- Artist statement (max 100 words)
- Up to 5 key artistic achievements (max 150 words)
- Summary of post school education
- 25-word summary of proposed research and production.
- A description of why the applicant needs this support to allow them to realise their artistic potential (max 100 words).
- Proposal (max 300 words) which gives an idea on what the artist hopes to achieve.
- CV
- A rough budget to show the use of funds.
- Up to 6 visuals of works already produced.
Application Deadline:
Sunday 22 June 2025, 5pm