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RSA New Contemporaries 2024 features 26 ECA graduates

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A painting. The foreground shows three narrow tree trunks, framing four figures in orange/red clothes. The two smaller figures, to the right, are feeding ducks. One of the two larger figures, centre, is lowering rope into a hole in the ground; the other stands beside them. There are further white, narrow tree trunks in the background.

Don't let the ducks - Harrison Armstrong

RSA New Contemporaries 2024 showcases work by graduates of Edinburgh College of Art, selected from the 2022 and 2023 Graduate Shows.

Now in its 15th year, The Royal Scottish Academy's New Contemporaries 2024 features work by a total of 104 graduates from across Scotland’s art colleges, with a diverse array of painting, sculpture, film-making, photography, printmaking, installation, performance and architecture. This year’s exhibition is particularly expansive due to a postponed exhibition during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The ECA graduates exhibiting are: 

2022: Harrison Armstrong, Olivia-Anna Boden, Mary Bowen, Agnes Brook-Sulman, Tom Carney, Fyfe Daly, Pollyanna Esse, Rachel Glen, Stuart Gomes, Madeline Howden, Tim Milner, Saffron Slater.

2023: Daniel Anderson, Billy Brown, Natasha Bucheit, Tegan Chaffer, Catriona Clark, Toby Eccleston, Danele Evans, Remi Jabłecki, Berti McColl, Erical McCracken, Tracey Exton McShane, Iona Peterson, Charlene Scott, Ammna Sheikh.  

Works from the exhibition

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The left side of the artwork is made up of woven paper strips of various colours. The right side has a dark pink pattern on a pale pink backgroundp

Ammna Sheikh -The Richer A Persian, The Finer His Rugs, 2023. Printed cartridge paper and wrapping paper

The left side of the artwork is made up of woven paper strips of various colours. The right side has a dark pink pattern on a pale pink backgroundp

Exhibition Convenors, Gareth Fisher PRSA and Jennifer McRae RSA, made the selection of exhibitors with assistance from fellow Academicians and representatives from the five main colleges of art. The five Scottish schools of architecture are each represented by graduates selected by Architecture Convenors Robin Webster RSA and Ben Addy RSA. 

The RSA team works closely with exhibitors in an effort to develop lasting relationships in the lead up to the exhibition and beyond. With considerable monetary prizes in addition to residency, studio and purchase awards, the development of this exhibition is an important initiative for emerging artists and architects in Scotland, enabling a ‘first exhibition’ opportunity for over 50 early-career artists and architects annually. Previous RSA New Contemporaries have gone on to achieve acclaim and recognition after the exhibition.

“As an art student in the 1970s, I benefited substantially from being part of the Royal Scottish Academy's Student Exhibition. Now, many years later and as President of the RSA, I feel privileged to be working with co-convenor Jennifer McRae RSA and the great selection team supporting us. When selectors for the RSA visit all the Scottish art and architecture schools, they do so with no knowledge of internal marking. They respond to what they see with fresh eyes and a desire to build a complex exhibition. New Contemporaries 2024 will give unique insight into contemporary trends and the raw energy that radiates from our aspiring artists and architects.”

Gareth Fisher PRSA

Exhibition Convenor

“As co-convenor of this year's selection for New Contemporaries, the exhibition stands out as a highlight both in my diary and that of the Academy. Nothing is predictable, imaginations abound and there are no limits to this display of optimism, invention and intellect from the 5 art colleges that grace Scotland's international and cultural stance. Go see and be entranced.”

Jennifer McRae RSA

Exhibition Convenor

New Contemporaries is open from Saturday 30 March to Wednesday 24 April. 
Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm.
Admission £8 / £5, free on Mondays. 
Royal Scottish Academy, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

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