Rachel McBrinn is an artist and filmmaker based in Edinburgh. Her practice is often collaborative and based upon long term site-responsive and archival research. With a critical lens on conservation, maintenance, and archiving practices, recent work has formed around themes of land management, town planning, and custodianship of the built environment. Between 2021-23 she was artist in residence with Rhubaba, where her research centred around her hometown Livingston, one of Scotland’s post-war New Towns. Her work has been shown recently at Fruitmarket Gallery, Market Gallery, CCA Glasgow, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Cove Park, and the Oban Phoenix Cinema.

She has a collaborative practice with artist Alison Scott, together receiving the Argyll Beacon Film Commission from Cove Park and ACT in 2022, before undertaking a year-long residency at St Andrews Botanic Garden for 2024 supported by Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund. Their project ‘After Glass’ will culminate in an exhibition with the Travelling Gallery in Spring 2025.

For 2024-25 she is filmmaker in residence at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, developing a programme of filmmaking workshops for the hospital community alongside collaborator James Thomson.

Rachel is the Contemporary Art Practice Course Leader at Leith School of Art.

Education

2017-19  Master of Fine Art with Distinction, Glasgow School of Art
2010-14  First Class BA (Hons) in Painting at Edinburgh College of Art

Selected Awards & Residencies

2024-25 Filmmaker in residence, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Jan 2024 - June 2025 (current)
2025  Cove Park, with Alison Scott, 6-13 Jan 
2024  Artist in residence, St Andrews Botanic Garden, with Alison Scott, Jan-Dec
2024  Creative Lab Residency, with Chao-Ying Rao, CCA Glasgow, 5 Feb - 2 March
2024 Creative Scotland Open Fund, with Alison Scott
2023-24  Creative Filmmaking Placement, West Lothian ARC 
2023  Hope Scott Trust Award
2023  Stephen Palmer Travel Award, with Alison Scott
2021-23  Artist in Residence, Rhubaba, Edinburgh
2022  LUX Scotland Research Bursary
2022  Argyll Beacon Film Commission, with Alison Scott, Cove Park and ACT
2019  LUX Project Bootcamp, Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival
2019  Artist in Residence, RSPB Forsinard Flows
2017  Shortlisted Artist, The Sainsbury Scholarship, The British School at Rome
2016-17  Emerging Artist Bursary Award, Creative Scotland & City of Edinburgh Council
2016  Shortlisted Artist, LUX Scotland SUPERLUX Research & Development Award  
2015-16  RSA Residencies for Scotland Award, Edinburgh Printmakers & RSA Collections
2014  Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross Scholarship to Florence
2013  Alexander Flynn Bequest Prize, Edinburgh College of Art

Selected Exhibitions and Events

2025 Mascara Film Club, Newington Green Meeting House, London, 24 May
2025 After Glass, exhibition in collaboration with Alison Scott, Travelling Gallery, 14 March - 9 May 
2025 The Glass Class, voice recording workshops, St Andrews Botanic Garden, with Alison Scott,  31 Jan / 10 Feb
2024 After Glass, Artists in Residence Screening Event, St Andrews Botanic Garden, 14 Sep
2024 West Lothian Film Festival, Vue cinema, Livingston, 20 July 12 noon
2024 After Glass, Artists in Residence Sharing Event, St Andrews Botanic Garden, 7 June 
2024 Remake Remodel, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, 4 May
2024 Today We Live, Market Gallery, Glasgow, 1 May
2024 Open Studio, CCA Creative Lab, Glasgow, 2 March 
2023 Congenial Soils and Favourable Situations, Oban Phoenix Cinema, 17 Sep
2023  Are you going my way?, online screening, MAP Magazine, 18 April - 18 May
2023  Rhubaba presents, screening, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
2022  Online Screening, Congenial Soils and Favourable Situations, via Cove Park
2022  Encounters with Climate, screening at CCA Glasgow
2022  Artist talk, with Alison Scott and SCAN, SCVO The Gathering
2022  Congenial Soils and Favourable Situations, screening at Climate Café, Cove Park
2020  Commission for Edinburgh International Science Festival (cancelled due to Covid-19)
2019  MFA ‘Ones to Watch’ at citizenM, Glasgow 
2019  MFA Degree Show, The Glue Factory, Glasgow
2019  Orange and Teal, live performance broadcast on Radiophrenia
2019  MFA WIP Screening, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow
2018  Last edit made seconds ago, with Ben Callaghan, The Lighthouse, Glasgow
2017  Last edit made seconds ago, with Ben Callaghan Custom Lane, Edinburgh
2017  SUMMA, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh 

Selected Professional Experience

2021-  VACMA Panel Member, City of Edinburgh Council & Creative Scotland (current)
2020-  Course Leader, Contemporary Art Practice Course, Leith School of Art, Edinburgh (current)
2021-22  Research Assistant, Glasgow School of Art
2021  LSA Lectures: Meeting the Gaze, Leith School of Art, Edinburgh
2017-  Freelance filmmaker (current)

Writing about my work

2023 Alison Scott, Space left over after planning, MAP Magazine

Writing by me

2023 ONNE BIGG WETT GRID, MAP Magazine