Split Screen - An evening with Rachel Maclean

Split Screen with Rachel Maclean

Step into the future of performance! Split Screen explores how Digital Innovation and Artificial Intelligence are reshaping theatre, dance, music, and live performance. Whether you're an artist, performer, technician, educator, or creative producer, Split Screen empowers you to experiment, innovate, and tell stories in entirely new ways.

During the Split Screen events, we bring together some of Scotland's most talented artists, creative organisations, and digital experts to explore how technology can open up fresh ways of making and sharing performance.

This mixer event will provide a platform for knowledge exchange, peer networking, and expert talks and provocations from leading voices in the community. We aim to take attendees on a journey of discovery, where you leave feeling inspired and connected.

We are delighted to welcome Rachel Maclean to share an evening with us to discuss her new work and delve into her processes, leading with creativity and experimenting with new technology, tools, and systems.

Split Screen is led by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in partnership with Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, Citizens Theatre, CodeBase, Techscaler, Creative Glasgow, and anam creative.

Supported by the Scottish Government Ecosystem Fund.

Keynote Speaker [Rachel Maclean]

Rachel Maclean is an established artist and filmmaker based in Glasgow, Scotland, whose distinctive works explore themes of identity, consumerism, and digital culture through boldly stylised, satirical multimedia creations.

Maclean has exhibited widely in galleries, museums, and film festivals worldwide. She has had solo shows at Tate Britain and The National Gallery in London, and represented Scotland at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Her 2016 work Feed Me achieved widespread critical praise when featured in the British Art Show.

Her groundbreaking deepfake film DUCK earned her the esteemed Prix Ars Electronica. Maclean won the prestigious 2013 Margaret Tait Award and has twice been shortlisted for the Jarman Award. She has further expanded her influence through television commissions for the BBC and Channel 4, cementing her position as a significant voice in contemporary visual arts.

To find out more visit rachelmaclean.com

Film Screening [DUCK]

As part of the event we will be screening DUCK, a daring deepfake short that follows Sean Connery's unravelling after he witnesses Marilyn Monroe's return from the dead. Set in the instantly recognisable world of a British Spy Thriller, Connery plays the role he knows all too well: collecting clues, wrongfooting assailants, and eliminating the femme fatale - only to find that all is not what it seems.

DUCK is unique in entirely using deepfake video and audio, resurrecting actors via AI. Visually captivating, funny, and technically innovative, the film takes elements from classic Hollywood, video games, film noir, and sci-fi to raise compelling questions about truth and power.

From 7pm attendees can also explore the Too Happy Studios space.

Fireside Chat Host [Arusa Qureshi]

Arusa is the current Editor of Fest Magazine, the highly respected Edinburgh Festivals publication, and the former Editor of events and entertainment magazine The List, and writes mostly about music. She is also the author of Flip the Script: How Women Came to Rule Hip Hop, documenting the often-unseen history and trajectory of women in UK hip hop, including Cookie Crew, Speech Debelle and more. She is also a widely published music journalist, with work appearing in Clash, the Guardian, GoldFlakePaint, Time Out, the Quietus, NME and more.

Arusa chairs the board of the Scottish Music Centre, sits on the board of the Music Venue Trust and is the co-curator of the award-winning Amplifi series at Edinburgh's Queens Hall, which places an emphasis on early career musicians of colour working in Scotland. As of 2025, she is one of six new members of the Culture Counts Steering Group, which will provide guidance to the Culture Counts network in advocating for the development and protection of culture as fundamental to our common future.

To find out more visit arusaqureshi.com