About
Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) is a leading platform for national and international contemporary artists.
The society was originally founded in 1924 as an organisation for women artists and since the 1980s has championed craftspeople, makers, designers and applied arts practitioners. Today, our membership is composed of fine and applied artists, celebrating the best in innovative contemporary visual arts. The conversation between disciplines - to encourage challenging and ambitious ideas - is at the heart of Visual Arts Scotland’s mission.
VAS has a vibrant, active and participatory membership of over 800 practising artists. The society provides a platform to support and connect them, and to showcase their work. Members and non-members alike are welcome to submit work for our prestigious Annual Exhibition.
Our Annual Exhibition offers the opportunity for emerging and established practitioners to showcase new and unseen work and engage with a wider public; to generate debate, to test out and exhibit challenging and ambitious ideas within the context of Scottish and international culture.
Our membership categories cater for artists at all stages in their careers, whether new graduates, emerging artists or established practitioners. All are welcome to contribute to the continuing development of Visual Arts Scotland.
WHO WE ARE
The President and Council are elected by the membership to represent the wide array of disciplines that VAS promotes.
Sarah Calmus
President
Sarah Calmus is an interdisciplinary artist, arts programmer and educator, currently based in Edinburgh. Hailing from Essex, Calmus moved to Dundee to study at Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and Design. Calmus graduated in 2014 in Art, Philosophy and Contemporary Practices where she has participated, organised and been selected for over 40 joint exhibitions, residencies, events and interventions, predominantly in Scotland.
Sarah is a freelancer in educational facilitation and events with Look and Draw, Edinburgh Council, The Mary Erskine School and works for MCLCreate building pop up events. Calmus has been involved with The Hidden Door Festival since 2015 and was elected to join the Council of Visual Arts Scotland in spring 2019.
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Amanda Airey
Vice President
Amanda Airey has worked in the creative sector for over 20 years in a number of roles from bid writing, economic development and strategy. A fine art graduate, she continues her art practice focusing mainly on landscape and the natural world. She currently works at the Edinburgh Art Festival.
Eve Hynd
council member
Rowan Paton
Administrator
Before becoming the Administrator for Visual Arts Scotland, Rowan - a painter - was also a professional member and then a council member assisitng with social media, satelite shows, curation & press.
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Julie Barnes
Council Member
Julie is an expressionist, narrative painter. Her paintings often have a dream like quality and seek the recreation of experiences in the viewer through radiant colour, line and composition. She uses gold and silver leaf to enhance applied oils or acrylic to achieve a rich texture.
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Karen Maxted
Council Member
Karen graduated from Eca in 2018 and is based in Troon, Ayrshire. She is interested in mark making and works using collage - translating draft collections of marks into paintings and wooden and metal wall sculptures.
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Lynsey Mackenzie
Council Member
Lynsey MacKenzie initially graduated with a degree in Law, but returned to art, studying on the Painting Course at the Leith School of Art from 2014 to 2016 where she was awarded the Painting Prize. She then graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2019 with a 1st Class BA (Hons) in Painting & Printmaking. She is a Visual Arts Scotland Graduate Showcase Shortlisted Artist, was awarded the Great Art Award at the SSA/VAS OPEN Exhibition and has recently exhibited at RSA New Contemporaries 2020.
Julie-Ann Simpson
Communications Manager
Julie-Ann Simpson is a painter from Aberdeen, currently based in Glasgow. She is an elected Professional Member of Visual Arts Scotland. Within her work, she often thinks about the occult, our relationship with the natural world as well as imagination, ritual, memory, pleasure and language.
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