Visual Arts Scotland is a charity run by an Administrator, President (elected for 3 years) and a council of professional artists (also elected for 3 years).

The Society was started in 1924 as the Scottish Society of Women Artists - the SSWA's primary aim was to give encouragement and opportunity to women artists in 1990. The organisation adopted a new name, Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen (SAAC) and membership was now available to men. The Society is now known as Visual Arts Scotland (VAS).

VAS is a well established society. It is a multidisciplinary society and represents all forms of contemporary arts, giving equal emphasis and exhibition space to the applied arts, e.g. ceramics, textiles and jewellery as well as the fine arts, painting and sculpture. The Society is run by artists for artists. They have a website and an education programme.

VAS has had an "open" annual exhibition in the Royal Scottish academy Galleries since 1945, and the next is due to take place in January/February 2005. At this exhibition they have invited artists from a variety of countries. The Society largely consists of artists working in Scotland, but they do have a few overseas members. Being an "open" exhibition, they would welcome overseas submissions.