Maré from the Inside is a series of visual projects produced with several collaborators, including Henrique Gomes, a cultural producer from Maré, Antonello Veneri, an Italian photojournalist, and Nadia Sussman, an American videographer. An art exhibit curated by Nicholas Barnes, lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, is currently on display in the foyer of the Arts Building in St Andrews. The exhibit includes photographs taken by Veneri with the guidance of Gomes working with Maré residents to sit for the portraits, many of which were friends and fam ..read more

What is your favourite object in the Iran: Wonders of Nature exhibition and why? I asked this question through our Museums Staff channel a few weeks ago, with the idea of sharing the different ways in which people have experienced our new temporary exhibition since it opened. The results can be categorised in three main groups. Reflection I love the ‘Volume with texts in Persian on astrology, made between 1600 and 1700 AD’ – I find the zodiac drawings intriguing and feel like I’m peering into the private notebook of an astrologer who is trying to figure out the mysteries of space and our exis ..read more

Born in Leith in 1874, John Duncan Fergusson was a gifted artist who received little artistic schooling. He dropped out of medical school after two years to pursue his passion in painting and, after spending some time in Edinburgh to study art, decided to leave believing the process of teaching to be ineffective and detrimental to creative freedom – a philosophy by which he lived. By around 1900, Fergusson set out to France, Morocco, and Spain on artistic pilgrimages, taking on influences from the French Impressionists, particularly in the works of Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, and Paul Cézanne ..read more

I’m Struan Watson, a Collections Assistant at the University of St Andrews Museums. I started working here in June 2021 as a Visitor Services Facilitator at the Wardlaw Museum. Since then, I have taken on various roles and projects across our collections. Whether that’s Fine Art, Geology, or Natural History, projects within these collections require diverse approaches to care, management, and development. With the year 2023 coming to a close, it is a time to reflect on work that has been completed, projects finished, and deadlines met. Looking forward to 2024, there are a number of New Year’s ..read more

Our Collections are rich and diverse, and our staff members are dedicated to their care and stewardship. However, it can sometimes be hard to keep up with all the work going on behind the scenes. So why not take this chance to stop and reflect before the end of the year? In this December Blog, we are going to present some of our work, reveal some of our least talked-about Collections… and ask you to join in our carols if you can. On the run-up to Christmas my Museum Collections gave to me… An Ivory-breasted Bird Collection: Zoology Location: Wardlaw Museum The Wardlaw Museum reopened i ..read more

What do curators do? A few months after being appointed Curator of the Photography Collection, I was informed ‘you need to do a Mingulay exhibition.’ This was not an unwelcome surprise but the timescale was tight. We had less than 9 months to plan (most exhibitions are planned at least a year in advance) and although I had managed a couple of exhibition installations, I had not been involved in the process from the beginning. This was going to be a steep learning curve. Laura taking visitors on a tour of Return to Mingulay during one of the exhibition opening events. Once we assembled the team ..read more

In January this year, I joined the museum as the Common Ground project trainee. This was not only an exciting professional opportunity, but it also held a great deal of personal significance as I took part in the Wardlaw’s, then known as MUSA’s, Youth Curator programme while I was in school. In Youth Curators, we created an exhibition, learned new skills such as collaborative working and video editing, and thought about ways the museum could better engage with teenagers. It is noticeable how Common Ground and Youth Curators share many similar aims in developing skills and confidence in second ..read more

What is the Common Ground project? Common Ground is a community project that brings together migrants and refugees studying English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Fife College and pupils from Glenwood High School. Over the course of six months, the group met at the Wardlaw Museum to learn new skills, forge friendships, and create a photography exhibition that explores the themes of family, friendships, and the environment. Participants discussed exhibition topics, experimented with light, angles, and framing in their photography, and made photo series with the support and guidance ..read more

Anyone familiar with Summertime in St Andrews could tell you about the Lammas fayre. A barrage of carnival rides, games and stalls sprawling across Market Street and South Street for a few days each August. But what exactly is the origin of the Lammas Fayre? [The harvest workers at Creag a Mhadaidh, Loch Sween], August 1911, Image Courtesy of the University of St Andrews Library, ID THM-ALB-19-639 Dating back to biblical times, ‘Lammas’ is the shortened name of Loaf Mass. Loafmass day is a Christian holiday celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere on 1st August to celebrate the blessing of the fi ..read more

The last Cardinal before the reformation, Cardinal David Beaton played an important part in Scottish history, and today we unfold the events surrounding his untimely death in 1546. Educated at St Andrews and Glasgow Universities, David Beaton was promoted to the role of Cardinal by his uncle, James Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow in 1522. Cardinal Beaton had close links to King James V and was devoted to the crown, despite the persistence of attempts by Henry VIII to encourage James V to renounce papal authority. Portrait of Cardinal Beaton by Edward Trevannyon Haines. Image Courtesy of the Univ ..read more