EDINBURGH.- The Royal Scottish Academy has recently administered four awards totaling £21,000 to artists in Scotland. These awards are given by the RSA on behalf of the individual benefactors and trusts in keeping with the primary aim of the RSA: to encourage and support artists. The awards form part of the RSA’s annual awards programme and each award is presented annually.

The RSA announced the winners of the following four awards:

· The Alastair Salvesen Art Scholarship (£12,000) awarded to Heather Ross.
· The Morton Award for lens based media (£5000) awarded to Christine Borland.
· The Barns-Graham Travel Award (£2000) awarded to Geri Loup Nolan.
· The William Littlejohn Watercolour Award (£2000) awarded to Jean Duncan.

Information on individual award winners:

The Alastair Salvesen Art Scholarship (£12,000) awarded to Heather Ross.
Heather Ross (b. Glasgow 1983) studied at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen before becoming artist in residence at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen. Her award-winning proposal presented to the Salvesen committee dealt with Japanese-based themes: ‘old and new’, femininity and technology. Heather currently lives and works in Edinburgh and teaches part-time at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen.

The Morton Award for lens based media (£5000) awarded to Christine Borland.
Christine Borland (b. Darvel 1965) studied at Glasgow School of Art before going on to further study in Northern Ireland and Germany. Her award-winning proposal to the Morton committee was to develop themes dealt with in her previous film series “SimMan/Baby/Woman” (2007-2010) and “NoBodies” (2010). The themes arising from these films tie into the larger theme of understanding the individual’s relationship with the often inaccessible systems that underpin our society. Christine currently lives and works in Kilcreggan, near Helensburgh.

The Barns-Graham Travel Award (£2000) awarded to Geri Loup Nolan
Geri Loup Nolan (b. Manchester 1961) graduated from Edinburgh College of Art this year. Her award-winning proposal to the Barns-Graham committee is to travel to Japan to explore connections between the east and west in philosophical thinking and artistic/architectural approaches. Geri currently lives and works in Portobello, Edinburgh.

The William Littlejohn Watercolour Award (£2000) awarded to Jean Duncan.
Jean Duncan (b. Lochgilphead 1957) graduated from Glasgow School of Art and was the 2007 winner of the prestigious J D Fergusson Arts Award. Jean also won the Fife Council Visual Arts Award in both 2009 and 2010 and has held solo exhibitions at the University of Dundee and the Fergusson Gallery, Perth. Currently living and working in Wormit, Fife, Jean’s award-winning proposal to the William Littlejohn committee focused on the sea, patterns and movements in the sand and sandbanks and, in particular, microscopic diatoms, or plankton. She intends to use the award to travel to Orkney to further develop these themes.

The work from these award winners will be exhibited during the 2011 RSA Exhibition Programme.