ANDIAMO!: Forty years of the RSA John Kinross Scholarships to Florence

11 September - 17 October 2021

RSA Upper Galleries

Click here to book your visit. 

Booking at the door is possible depending on space.

Exhibitors: Mary Bourne RSA | Matt Collier | Kevin Dagg | William Darrell | Jamie Fitzpatrick | Neil Gall | Ian Goodfellow | Hannah Imlach | Chantal Joffe RA | Steven MacIver | Rowan MacKinnon-Pryde | Mary Maclean (1962-2018) | Penelope Matheson | Kate McCrickard | Wendy McMurdo RSA (Elect) | Janie Nicoll | Elena Sorokina | Emily Speed | Michael Taylor | Geoff Uglow

Each year the RSA John Kinross Scholarship enables ten final year undergraduate and postgraduate art and architecture students the opportunity to research and develop their practice in Florence for up to three months.

Florence has been an inspiration to generations of artists and architects and this award enables successful applicants to experience the city’s magnificent history, study its art and architecture, learn the language and create a visual record of their experience. Upon their return, examples of scholars’ work are accessioned to the Collection of the Royal Scottish Academy, recognised as a Collection of National Significance to Scotland.

Since the John Kinross Memorial Fund was established in 1981 by John Blythe Kinross CBE HRSA in memory of his father, John Kinross RSA, it has supported over 450 emerging artists and architects and distributed over £730,000 in funds. From its modest beginnings, the Scholarship has grown to be the most important travelling award the RSA has ever administered, and the current guidelines continue to reflect the spirit in which it was originally envisioned.

To mark this significant milestone, 20 artists and architects, five from each decade, have been invited to show recent work alongside work they produced at the time of their Scholarship, many of the latter coming from the RSA’s own Collection. The exhibition, curated by Mary Bourne RSA, with assistance from Fergus Purdie RSA, highlights the breadth and diversity of the practices the Scholarship has supported and the lasting impact the experience has had on the scholars involved.

The exhibition also includes a curated selection of work and documentation from the RSA’s extensive Kinross Collection. An accompanying publication delving into the history of the Scholarship and the experiences of many of the artists and architects involved is available to view and can be purchased in the gallery and online here.

In addition to this, all past Scholars have been invited to share reflections of their time in Florence and an example of their current practice on our website. This is intended to remain as a growing archive to be added to over the years. Click here to view online.

We would like to extend a special thank you to the family of John Kinross whose ongoing interest and encouragement is valuable to the success of this initiative. Thanks also to Victoria Miro, VITRINE Gallery, Elizabeth Gordon and Philip Griffin for the loan of works for this exhibition.