It is the time of year when the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh is usually filled with the big winter Open exhibitions, but this year things are a little different. Visual Arts Scotland would normally be mounting its annual show, a flurry of activity from countless VAS artists to curate and hang the chosen works from many hundreds of submissions. But this large scale venture, which always throws up interesting works in many disciplines, and takes up the huge gallery spaces of the iconic William Playfair building in central Edinburgh, has had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

All is not, however, lost. VAS are mounting a celebratory exhibition online, with over 240 works in disciplines from painting to jewellery and sculpture, with many works available to purchase. It is a new venture for the organisation, and one which they will doubtless hope will be a part of history this time next year, in the event that we ever leave Tier 3 and get to talk about it down the pub. Do go online to see some of what has been produced.

Yet all is not quite lost in the real world, either, as downstairs at the RSA in the Academicians Gallery, a celebratory Christmas Exhibition has been mounted of “joyous” works from Royal Academicians themselves who, earlier this year, on the cusp of hanging their Annual Exhibition, had to pull the works from the walls and stow them away for another year. If you get bored of the Christmas queue outside the Princes Street shop of your choice, you now know where to head for some respite.

Visual Arts Scotland: Flow, www.visualartsscotland.org Until 31 Jan 2021

RSA: Christmas Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound, Edinburgh, www.royalscottishacademy.org Until 22 Dec, Prebook timeslots online