Past exhibitions and events
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Over the years, the University of Stirling Art Collection has hosted a wide range of exhibitions and events. Explore our archive and find out more about our past events.
2023-2024
Exhibitions
2022 - 2023
Each year, the Art Collection's exhibitions, events and workshops are directly inspired by the research of the University. This year, the Art Collection pulled together a selection of exhibitions under the theme 'Space & Place'.
Space & Place: a selection from the permanent collection
The Art Collection aims to make art and culture a part of everyday life for staff, students, and visitors throughout the campus. We support academics to enable exchanges between art, research, and teaching and inspire everyone to engage with art.
Each academic year, all of the Art Collection’s exhibitions, events and workshops are directly inspired by one of the University research themes.
In 2022-23 our chosen focus was Space & Place, and during this time we celebrated the inspiration and sustenance that buildings and outdoor spaces provide for us, especially here on campus.
In the Crush Hall we chose a selection of works from the permanent collection along the theme of Space & Place. Read about some of the artworks in more detail on our blog.
Jennifer Wicks residency: Technical Notes
A basic quality of us human beings and in fact all living creatures, is that we are always moving... we are creatures of movement. The basic substance of the cinema is movement. At its lowest level the movement of light waves (the visuals) and the movement of sound waves (the soundtrack).
Norman McLaren, 1956 incomplete notes of proposed theory of cinema.
Jennifer Wicks was Artist in Residence at the University of Stirling’s Art Collection throughout 2022. Specifically looking at the work of Norman McLaren, held in the University Archive and the Art Collection, Jennifer researched McLaren’s pioneering innovations with sound and image to produce a new body of work which includes film, sound, and print work.
Initial research explored themes surrounding sound and image, the materiality of film and visualising music. McLaren’s interests lay in the visual translation of music, phenomenology of sound, and image, and the philosophy around perception; one of his underlying concerns was movement, “movement that is drawn, not drawings that move”. He also drew directly onto the soundtrack of the film to create an innovative sort of electronic, optical-graphical music, he essentially produced sound out of drawings. Alongside his hand-drawn films, he experimented with stereoscopic films and drawings and went on to work with dancers and choreographers.
The residency was generously supported by Creative Scotland.
David James Grinly: 'ALVA' and 'Altar per la Salvatrice'
In Gallery 4 of the Pathfoot Building, as part of our Space & Place theme, we presented two exhibitions by David James Grinly: ‘ALVA’ and ‘Altar per la Salvatrice’.
On one wall, five prints from his 2013 ‘ALVA’ series of photographs, gifted to the Art Collection by the artist.
This series of photographs was made in the winters of 2011-13 when the artist returned to his family home.
He says:
'home is where the heart is/the camera never lies'. I think about Alva quite differently now than I did a few years ago when I finished making these photographs. I remember thinking a lot about how photography has been usurped by photography and about how the idea of home as a place and a genesis is now, at best, a degraded fiction. The photographs are at once a portrait of a specific Scottish town, but also a portrait of a 'home town'. This is the place we grew up, the place we wanted to escape, and the place we sometimes return to - here seen by the photographer precisely, straight and free from sentimentality, aware that things are always at once familiar and unfamiliar, important and everyday.
On the opposite wall, his new work ‘Altar per la Salvatrice’ (2022) responds, in the form of an altarpiece, to trips recently made by the artist to Italy.
If A is Alva where I took the colour photos, and B is the place(s) I took the black and white photos in Italy – and even if A is organisationally no longer in Europe, and B is no longer in Europe because Europe ≠ Europe – the act of arranging them in this way begs the possibility that A is still equal to B. It prays that, despite the odds, love is still possible. These works are probably about Europe, home, and love, and various economies and theologies of attention. Among other things.
Space & Place: The Pathfoot Building
The Pathfoot Building is probably the most beautiful, the most civilized, the most sensitive and intelligent piece of large scale modern architecture and planning that has been achieved in Scotland.
David Baxandall, former Director of the National Galleries of Scotland, speaking in January 1970.
The Pathfoot Building is an outstanding example of post-war modernist architecture and is widely recognised to be of international significance. During the year’s exhibition theme 'Space & Place', we took the opportunity to celebrate the design of this building, home to the Art Collection and an integral part of the history of the campus.
Stirling is one of the so-called ‘plate glass’ universities which were founded during the 1960s. The name reflects the large amounts of glass used in many of the designs. The functional minimalist style used had first emerged during the 1930s and became dominant after the Second World War. In Pathfoot, the design responds elegantly to its sloped hillside setting, with a series of low-rise stepped levels and multiple glazed internal courtyards, merging inside with out.
The building has evolved over the decades: the width of the J corridor was reduced to accommodate additional office space and the new A corridor at the front was added in 1993. Even though the Pathfoot Building has been altered and extended over the years, the spirit of the original design remains, and is appreciated by those who visit, study and work here.
You can read more about the building on our Culture on Campus blog.
A Sense of Place
A small ongoing exhibition of artworks organised by the Art Collection and chosen from the University’s permanent collection, located in the Iris Murdoch Building.
The theme of this display is A Sense of Place and we hope to provide the viewer with a chance to pause and perhaps reminisce. The exhibition links with this year's Art Collection theme, 'Space and Place’. During this time we are celebrating the inspiration and sustenance that buildings and outdoor spaces provide for us. There are more exhibitions in the Pathfoot Building, and sculptures placed across campus
Never Apologise: an exhibition from the Lindsay Anderson Archive
The University of Stirling’s 2023 Culture on Campus exhibition celebrated the life and work of one of the most distinctive British filmmakers of the twentieth century. Born in Bangalore, India, in 1923, Lindsay Anderson reflected British life and society through the lens of a series of remarkable films including This Sporting Life (1963), O Lucky Man! (1972) and If…. (1969), a poetic and surreal vision of revolt and rebellion at a public school, and one of the key British films of the 1960s.
Anderson’s contribution to British cultural life extended to his work as a film critic, author and theatre director. He was part of the generation that transformed the post-war cultural and artistic world in the 1950s and 1960s.
Never Apologise marked the centenary of Anderson’s birth by opening up the extensive collection of his personal and working papers held in the University of Stirling Archives. It presented an archival journey through Anderson’s filmmaking career tracing the documentary grit, Hollywood glamour and critical struggles of a life lived behind the camera. The exhibition featured fresh new insights into Anderson’s life and work through contributions from actors, artists, academics and curators.
These personal responses to Anderson and his archive included memories of working with the director, favourite scenes from his films, overlooked aspects of his career and archival discoveries, all illustrated with previously unseen documents and photographs from a unique cinematic collection.
The exhibition was on display in the Macrobert Art House from 23 January to 30 April 2023 and was accompanied by events and screenings which providing further opportunities to find out more about Anderson’s career and celebrate his work.
Culture on Campus is a collaboration between the Art Collection, University Archives and the Macrobert Arts Centre which aims to develop a creative environment where creative thinking and creative acts are at the heart of our identity as a place of learning.
The Lindsay Anderson Archive
The Lindsay Anderson Archive was deposited with the University of Stirling Archives in 2003 and forms part of its extensive holdings relating to filmmaking. The collection provides a comprehensive record of Anderson’s personal and working lives.
It includes detailed correspondence, production notes, scripts, photographs, promotional material and press cuttings relating to all of his films and forty theatre productions he directed. Personal material includes diaries, memorabilia, photographs and awards, along with his personal library of books and VHS collection.
The University of Stirling Archives
Located in the University Library, the University Archives collects, preserves and makes accessible material across a wide range of research areas.
2022 - 2023 Outreach events
Intentional camera movement
26 August 2023
As part of the Stirling Photography Festival, join Rona Fraser to learn the skills and techniques of intentional camera movement (ICM) and make abstract and creative interpretations of the beautiful campus at the University of Stirling.
A fabulous opportunity to learn and develop new skills with your camera. Led by recent graduate Rona Fraser, this workshop will give you an introduction to the basics of ICM including:
- technique explanation
- introductory camera settings
- types of movement
You will have the opportunity to photograph inside and around the Pathfoot Building and the University's Art Collection.
Airthrey, a poetic journey
26 August 2023
Join the University of Stirling’s Artist in Residence Audrey Grant on a guided walk exploring the rich and complex history of
Audrey has been looking at the campus as a subject for art and creative inspiration, through building a library of analogue
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about Audrey’s creative process and invited to respond themselves by
Part of the Stirling Photography Festival.
Spaces and Places: a reading with Nikita Parik and Shreyasi Sharma
2 May 2023
Join us for a reading with writers, Nikita Parik and Shreyasi Sharma, amongst the Pathfoot artworks. As part of the Art Collection's theme of Space and Place, Nikita and Shreyasi will read work related to urban localities, habitats and non-human life. They will also be talking to Gemma Robinson about how their previous and new work is engaged in mapping and transforming spaces and bodies in poetry and prose.
Nikita Parik
Nikita Parik holds an M.A. in Linguistics and another M.A. in English. She is the author of Diacritics of Desire (2019), her debut book of poems, and the translator of Amour and Apocalypse (2020), a Hindi novel based on the reinterpretation of the flood myth. Her third and latest book, My City is a Murder of Crows (2022), was shortlisted for the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize. Her books have been reviewed/featured in The Sunday Statesman, Business Standard, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Outlook India, The Wire, and Kavya Bharati.
She is also one of the founder editors of EKL Review. You can read her interview with Kitaab (Singapore), and listen to her poetry podcast with Rattle magazine (USA).
Shreyasi Sharma
Shreyasi Sharma has an MA in Literary Art from Dr B.R. Ambedkar University, Delhi, and since her graduation has worked in publishing houses, think tanks and schools. Her words have appeared in The Hindu, The Citizen, Feminism in India, Indian Cultural Forum, and Current Conservation, and in 2022 Red River Press published her poems and narrative non-fiction about the city in an anthology titled Of Dry Tongues and Brave Hearts.
Charles Wallace Fellowships
Nikita Parik is the 2023 Charles Wallace Fellow in Creative Writing at Stirling and Shreyasi Sharma is the 2023 Charles Wallace Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Kent.
Each year, Stirling and Kent host an Indian creative writer to work alongside students and staff. Charles Wallace Fellowships are funded by Charles Wallace India Trust (CWIT). The organisation funds fellowships across the UK for Indian academics, translators and creative practitioners.
For more information about this event and Stirling’s fellowship please contact Gemma Robinson, at gemma.robinson@stir.ac.uk.
Art Collection Open Day
20 May 2023
All are welcome to enjoy a lively day, filled with workshops, performances and tours in a relaxed environment. Throughout the day, there will be free tours of the exhibitions, drop-in activities and refreshments, alongside our programme of events.
Each academic year, all of the Art Collection’s exhibitions, events and workshops are directly inspired by one of the University research themes. In 2022-23 our chosen focus is Space & Place, and during this time we are celebrating the inspiration and sustenance that buildings and outdoor spaces provide for us, especially here on campus.
Vivek Narayanan: Poetry reading and Q&A
11 November 2022
Vivek Narayanan, one of the most distinguished contemporary Indian poets, joins us for a lunchtime reading and discussion. Vivek will perform sections from After (NYRB, 2022), his collection of poems inspired by Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa, which he describes as a “reinvention or rewiring” of Vālmīki's epic text. Following the performance, we will have a Q&A on issues ranging from translation, epic time to contemporary poetics.
This event if free and open to all.
Speaker: Vivek Narayanan
Vivek Narayanan teaches poetry in the MFA program at George Mason University. His books of poems include After (New York Review Books, July 2022), Universal Beach, Life and Times of Mr S. He has been a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University (2013–14) and a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library (2015–16). His poems, stories, translations and critical essays have appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, Chimurenga Chronic, Granta.com, Poetry Review (UK), Modern Poetry in Translation,
Harvard Review, Agni, The Caribbean Review of Books, Aroop and elsewhere, as well as in The Penguin Book of the Prose Poem and The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poetry. He is on the editorial board of Poetry Daily.
Praise for 'After'
I was drawn in by rhythms and images that allowed this work to take flight.
Layla Benitez-James, Harriet, Poetry Foundation blog
After is as multitudinous as the Sanskrit Ramayana, the text it is after (in both senses of the word), the text it follows (in both senses of the word). It is a conception in English of Valmiki’s great poem, a reflection of it, a concretion of it, a refraction of it, both an acceptance and a passionate refusal of it, a sometimes tender, sometimes violent embrace, a resurrection, an imprisonment, a liberation of it, and, always, an act of profoundly learned, current, and imaginative reverence. The only thing more amazing than Narayanan’s ambition is his realization of that ambition.
Vijay Seshadri
Vivek Narayanan, one of the most distinguished Indian poets of today, has with this remarkable book drawn upon an Indian heroic song of the late Bronze Age, Rāmāyana, and transferred the ancient virtues and poetic being of that epic to the twenty-first century. . . . this poem of Narayanan has great political force for a modern and activist readership, both Asian and Western. . . . [a] tour de force, radicalizing our apprehension of beauty.
Kevin McGrath, Harvard Review
A fantastic adventure story and a threnody on the sadness of power, the Ramayana has been multiplying across languages and formal boundaries for more than two millennia. And now it has taken a new shape in Vivek Narayanan’s formidable English: Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Ravana flash across these floodlit pages. Ancient and contemporary India fracture and recompose in this timeless epic of sorrow, violence, betrayal, and longing, as if the poet Valmiki foresaw, centuries ago, that he would chant again in Narayanan’s voice.
Rosanna Warren
The poems in Vivek Narayanan’s After are masterfully aware in terms of tone and the ‘time-spirit’ (‘Some Omens’) – leaning into the wonderful slipperiness of epic time, while being fully cognisant of these current fractious times. In a preface, Narayanan writes that his goal was to ‘reanimate’ Valmiki, not by carrying over or translating in a traditional sense, but to engage in a more open way. The result is a collection of leaping, fierce poems that move in several directions, leaving the reader besieged and dazzled in equal measure.
Tishani Doshi
OMOS: Film screening and Q&A
14 October 2022
Join us for an exciting lunchtime screening of new work, OMOS, followed by a Q&A with lead artist Rhys
OMOS is a 20-min moving image artwork that pays homage to Scotland’s untold Black history at
The artwork is filmed in Puck’s Glen and Stirling Castle and created collaboratively by a group of
OMOS is inspired by connections between Puck’s Glen, Stirling Castle and Shakespeare’s A
The name OMOS originally was an acronym for the phrase ‘O monstrous! O strange!’, a quote from
In OMOS the artists occupy space as they both draw on the past and look to the future. The screening will then be followed by a Q&A with lead artist Rhys Hollis, chaired by Briana Pegado.
PATHFOOTPATH
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Artists Peter and Heidi Gardener will be creating an exciting new site-specific work PATHFOOTPATH during the week beginning 3rd October and are
In response to the physical footprint of the Pathfoot Building, artists Gardner & Gardner are creating their temporary installation PATHFOOTPATH.
Artists’ Bio
Heidi Gardner and Peter Gardner are a husband-and-wife visual artist duo, working under the name Gardner & Gardner. Coming from different
Find out more on their website.
2021 - 2022
This year, the Art Collection pulled together a selection of exhibitions under the theme 'Art of Wellbeing'.
1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games: Game of Firsts
6 April - 31 Aug 2022
This exhibition was created by students undertaking the Interpretation and Exhibition Design module, as part of their assessment. It also utilises the University’s Commonwealth Games archive.
The 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games was a trailblazing event for sports history. It created a sense of excitement throughout Scotland as many people were thrilled the Games were being hosted in their country for the first time. People queued for hours for tickets and massive crowds gathered trying to catch a glimpse of the athletes. The exhibition told us the interesting stories behind the record-breaking athletes, the changing role of women in the Games, as well as insights into the opening and closing ceremony. The exhibition included a variety of objects from the Games: the Edinburgh 1970 Team HQ tie pin, memorabilia coins, medals, mascot, athletes’ t-shirts, entry tickets, tartan, brochures, and other fascinating objects.
A Passion for Art: Matilda Hall, Collector and Curator
10 February - 28 May 2022
The Art Collection was delighted to collaborate with Art in
In celebration of 50 years of the Macrobert Arts Centre, and 30
Matilda lives in the Borders surrounded by works of art. She has
Fifty: The University of Stirling in 50 objects
1 September 2021 - 31 Jan 2022
To mark the start of the new academic year at Stirling, we revisited an exhibition which celebrates the history of the University. In 2017 the University published the book Fifty: the University of Stirling in 50 objects as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. A photographic exhibition was created to accompany the publication featuring images of the items selected by staff, students and alumni which tell the story of the University.
“So why objects? Why this random selection of things – bits of metal, cloth, scraps of paper, images? Animal, vegetable, mineral, they are all here. Well, objects are important. Sometimes the most insignificant things can be imbued with meaning. Most of us have objects we treasure because of what they mean or who they represent: love and loss; a moment of time in our individual or shared histories; a memory.”
Tom Collins, from the introduction to Fifty: The University of Stirling in 50 objects
This exhibition presented a photographic selection of these objects on the library walls. We are also delighted to display some of the university’s memorabilia for the first time in our display cases. These objects include the original submission to the University Grants Committee supporting the establishment of a new university in Stirling and the Ceremonial Mace, presented to the University by Logie Kirk in 1968.
Take a look at our blog for more information about this exhibition.
Hope: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in surrealist form
3 December 2021 - 12 August 2022
‘I am doing this because the world needs hope. With hope we can overcome the onslaught of constant negative messages from traditional and new media which can cause us despair. With hope, we can overcome the paralysis of worry, a habit we can get into which serves no useful purpose and can even make us ill. Hope can help us overcome the challenges of mental illness, something which has become an increasing problem since the global pandemic which started in 2020. Most importantly, hope creates a feeling of expectation and that can create the desire to achieve the very thing we hope for. And it is desire, not ability, that determines our success.’
George Berrie
This exhibition, which formed part of our 'Art of Wellbeing' series of exhibitions in 2021, explored ‘Hope’, and each image conveys an element of Maslow's theory, beginning with our need for fresh air, clean water, nutritious food, shelter, sex, etc., and eventually through to what Maslow called ‘self-actualisation’. Hope comes from the fact that we can reach higher levels of being and that this hope creates an expectation. In turn, that expectation can lead to a desire to reach that higher level. Desire to reach a goal, rather than raw ability, is what the artist believes is the key element of personal success.
George Berrie was born in Fallin, near Stirling, where he grew up in relative poverty in the 1960s. After leaving school he went to Heriot Watt University to read actuarial mathematics but became disillusioned and joined an insurance company to earn money. At 39 he became the CEO of the largest insurance company in New Zealand, and a few years later he was appointed to the board of Norwich Union, then became a director with Aviva.
The ‘golden spur’ to escape his childhood poverty, having done its job, caused him to reflect on future goals. It was at this point that he was inspired to do an arts degree at Stirling University, relinquishing his business roles and becoming a full-time student. After graduating in 2015, he went on a sabbatical to Beirut, Lebanon, to discover what he wanted to achieve over the next five years. The desire to become a digital artist, and this resultant collection of images, were two products of that exercise.
The project reflects his observation of Maslow’s theory in real life during his career, coupled with the knowledge of theory from his studies. His aim is that the images will create an initial curiosity, followed by a sense of familiarity, and then an interaction that involves some emotion. His next portfolio is being planned and is based on dreams. He lives in Perth with his wife Julie.
Tending the Light
16 February to 29 April 2022
The Art Collection participated in Stirling’s Tending the Light Festival of Care 2022 by joining with the Stirling Window Wanderland, displaying window artwork created by Stirling’s Champions Board young people and partner agencies. It was installed by
The Art of Wellbeing: Blue
1 September 2021 to 12 August 2022
In this exhibition, we curated a selection of pieces from the permanent collection, all of which feature the colour blue.
This primary colour has long held a special significance. For some, it might denote sadness or cold. And it is the name for melancholy music in a minor key.
But the calming nature of blue in meditation has been appreciated for centuries. It can be a healing presence, restorative, and harmonious.
Pigments that produce blue have throughout the ages been highly prized – in jewellery, in porcelain, in body paint, dye for clothes, and for medicinal purpose, in medieval stained glass and -
Now that blue can be created from a number of synthetic sources, artists have a wide breadth of tones available, (.…ultramarine…cerulean…cobalt...Prussian…manganese…phthalo…delft ..indigo…)
In this exhibition, we invited you to enjoy a variety of works from the University’s permanent collection and to reflect upon your own perception of this colour.
What does blue mean to you?
Two blog posts were written about this exhibition. Please find them at these links:
The Art of Wellbeing: Second Chancers
1 September 2021 to 12 August 2022
Everyone deserves a second chance.
Times are changing in Scotland. A new way of thinking is emerging and a movement for a smarter justice system is beginning.
Through 18 individual stories, the exhibition explored individual experience of the Community Justice system in Scotland. Sentences served in the community are more effective than sentences
Second Chancers explored positivity, hope, aspiration and chaos through the lens of people with experience of the justice system. It gave a voice to people who have been let down and rejected,
This exhibition was delivered in conjunction with Community Justice Scotland, Stirling Community Justice Partnership, Stirling Community Planning Partnership and the Faculty of Social Sciences at the
More information about Second Chancers can be found on the project website.
Wire Wool: an intervention on a Bertoia Diamond Chair
29 November 2021 to 31 August 2022
In February 2020, artists Gardner and Gardner brought their peacemakers’ loom to the University. Staff, students and visitors to the Pathfoot Building joined the artists in the repetitive, simple action of knitting and to build peace through actions and kind words. This shared action created a single textile piece, symbolic of the conversations and the temporary community of peacemakers created around the loom. This piece was then transformed into a textile artwork utilising a Bertoia chair from the University’s furniture collection.
At the time of creation we were all unaware of what 2020 would bring and it was planned that the Wire Wool: an intervention on a Bertoia Diamond Chair would be on display in the Pathfoot Building in summer 2020. So we were delighted to finally be able to display this beautiful artwork in the space where the wool was created.
Making it was the most wonderful experience. As we were weaving the yarn, using a stitch based on an embroidery chain stitch, we remembered some of the people and conversations that took place around the peacemakers loom, which was quite moving.
Gardner and Gardner on creating Wire Wool
Heidi Gardner and Peter Gardner make temporary, site-specific installations and interventions, often set within the context of worshipping communities and their buildings, introducing a conceptual element into the sacred architecture. Their work responds to these environments, interacting with light, structure, scale and surface.
2021 - 2022 Outreach events
The poetry of vision - a mindful approach to photography
30 September 2021
The poetry of vision - a mindful approach to photography
Paul Sanders is a fine art photographer, Fuji ambassador, speaker and photography mentor, who is passionate about the benefits of photography to mental health and wellness. In this talk, Paul explored the beauty of imperfection and not seeking external validation for your images, but finding the joy in the experience of being present while you observe and truly see your subject.
www.discoverstill.com/about
www.facebook.com/discoverstill
This talk was held via Zoom.
We were delighted to partner with the Art Collection at the University of Stirling to bring Paul to this year's Flow 2021 Stirling Photography Festival and in support of the University's health and wellbeing activities and Be Connected programme. Stirling Photography Festival Flow 2021was supported by Event Scotland through Scotland's Event Recovery Fund and with funding through Scene Stirling - funded by Creative Scotland, Stirling Council and with support from cultural organisations across Stirling.
Airthrey Dance Trail workshop
16 October 2021
In October, dancer Grace Turner conducted a movement workshop inspired by the Airthrey Dance Trail.
The Airthrey Dance Trail is a dance film series created around the University of Stirling Campus inspired by the beautiful areas of nature and accompanied with original poetry by Frances Ainslie.
Finding your Visual Flow with Paul Sanders
6 November 2021
Following his talk "The Poetry of Vision", Paul joined us for this exclusive event where he shared his approach to mindful photography.
This short workshop with Paul Sanders focused on attention and awareness. Paying attention fully to the subject and your surroundings is one of the most important aspects of the creative process and translates across all genres of photography.
Paul explained his mindful approach to photography, the reasons why he applies this technique and gave participants a number of assignments to do during the session.
Disrupters - The New Generation
11 November 2021
Karyn McCluskey, Chief Executive of Community Justice Scotland with a passion for prevention, and Graeme Armstrong, author of The Times bestseller: The Young Team, were in discussion as they explored current social justice issues, their ambitions for the future and how you can help realise this vision.
Graeme Armstrong is a Times bestselling author from Airdrie. His teenage years were spent within Scotland’s ‘young team’ gang culture. After reading English as an undergraduate at the University of Stirling, he undertook a Master’s in Creative Writing. His debut novel, The Young Team, is based on his experiences. It is currently being adapted for the screen by Synchronicity Films. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award 2021. Winner of the Betty Trask Award 2021
Karyn McCluskey worked in the police for 22 years in Sussex, Lancashire, West Mercia, Strathclyde and Police Scotland. She is now Chief Executive for Community Justice Scotland. She was Director of the Violence Reduction Unit alongside John Carnochan set up in 2003, which proposed a different way of addressing violence in Scotland. They developed injury surveillance, gang intervention and gang exit, and focused on preventing knife carrying and injury.
This event was one of the outreach events run in conjunction with the Second Chancers exhibition which is currently on display in the Art Collection at the University of Stirling. Through 18 individual stories, the exhibition explores individuals experiences of the Community Justice system in Scotland. Second Chancers explores positivity, hope, aspiration and chaos through the lens of people with experience of the justice system.
This event was hosted jointly by the Art Collection at the University of Stirling, Community Justice Scotland and the University of Stirling Faculty of Social Sciences.
Airthrey Dance Trail online workshop
23 November 2021
In November 2021, Grace Turner hosted an online movement and mindfulness workshop inspired by her dance for film series the Airthrey Dance Trail.
The Airthrey Dance Trail is inspired by the beauty of the landscape around Airthrey Loch at the University of Stirling, in the workshop we considered how we draw movement inspiration from our natural surroundings.
Sculpture Walk
10 March 2022
In March 2022 the Art Collection hosted a mindful walk around some of the University Sculpture Collection, where visitors explored some of the iconic sculptures on our
Full Moon Yoga
14 May 2022
Yoga instructor and PT Mary Ann held a special yoga class to complement our exhibition ‘Blue’ and coincided with the full moon. The class was open to
Many Anne: “My classes focus on moving in ways which feel good. I have dedicated many years of my life to helping others in achieving their goals, in gaining clarity and in living a fuller, happier
Mindful Weaving
14 May 2022
In this workshop, participants learned the basics of weaving and created something inspired by the Art Collection’s exhibition ‘The Art of Wellbeing:
Isi Williams is a sculptor who works with weaving and is interested in the history and technique of yarn production and textiles. Based in Edinburgh, she
Art Collection Open Day
14 May 2022
At this open day, the University of Stirling Art Collection celebrated our themed year of health and wellbeing. Our open day celebrated the exhibitions with an exciting programme of free events, music, poetry, and the launch of the exhibition ‘The Liminal Zone’.
16mm camera-less film workshop with Artist-in-Residence Jennifer Wicks
14 and 15 June 2022
in June 2022, the Art Collection hosted a two-day 16mm film workshop to create experimental, animated films and soundtracks without a camera.
Using Norman McLaren as a starting point, participants drew, sewed and scratched directly onto 16mm film to create a collaborative film.
The workshop was led by artist Jennifer Wicks, who works across expanded cinema, drawing, film, and sculpture. Jennifer was Artist-in-residence at the Art Collection, researching pioneering artist
A film will be made collectively, digitised, and shared to all the workshop participants.
Pathfoot Sessions: Trauma Informed Practice
14 June 2022
This workshop was aimed at creative practitioners and museum professionals who work in or are interested in working in a community justice or criminal justice setting.
This session provided an introduction to the National Trauma Training Programme, signposted attendees to further training opportunities and invited reflections on working with trauma in the arts.
The session was led by Shumela Ahmed and Edel McGlanaghy. Shumela is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Resilience Learning Partnership. As a co-author of the National Trauma Training Plan, Shumela continues to target Resilience Learning Partnership’s core activities towards enhancing the learning and development of staff across local authority, 3rd and private sector organisations. Edel is a Clinical Psychologist and TPTIC (Transforming Psychological Trauma Implementation Coordinator) for Forth Valley with a remit to support the workforce to become more trauma informed. There will also be a discussion with members of a Recovery Cafe book club and author Lin Anderson about their collaborative relationship, which has been mutually inspiring.
This workshop was jointly hosted by the Art Collection at the University of Stirling, Scene Stirling and the Resilience Learning Partnership.
Attendees had the opportunity to view the Community Justice Scotland Second Chancers exhibition exploring experiences of Community Justice in Scotland
Art Collection Tours
13 to 17 June 2022
As part of the Forth Valley Art Beat Festival, the University of Stirling Art Collection will be offered free, informal tours of the collection. Visitors found out about history of the magnificent collection,
Pathfoot Art Sessions
24 June to 5 August 2022
Every weekly lunchtime during summer 2022, the Art Collection hosted a series of art workshops for students, staff and the public.
Themes included:
- Mindful Art Session
- Cyanotype Printing
- Painting with Natural Materials
- Mindful Art Session
- Basic Weaving
- Making Natural Sculptures
- Mindful Art Session
2020 - 2021
Under Threat: Change of Plan
26 October 2020 - 31 August 2021
Each year, the Art Collection’s exhibitions, events and workshops are directly inspired by the research of the University. This year the focus was on environment, and with the umbrella title ‘Under
We were pleased to present a series of outdoor sculptural installations by Stirling’s GOSSIP Collective inspired by our environmental theme.
The seven artists involved all responded to the project in distinctive ways. The title of the exhibition Change of Plan is a comment on, not only the current situation we find ourselves in but also
Artists: David Barbara, Ken Elliott, Alice Martin, Valerie Martin, Lesley McDermott, Dawn McLaren and Audrey McMenemy.
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2020 - 2021 Outreach events
Do Better: A Conversation with Wezi Mhura and Suzanne Williams about the Black Lives Matter Mural Trail
15 October 2020
As part of Black History Month, we organised an online conversation with Wezi Mhura (producer of the Scottish Black Lives Matter Mural Trail) and Suzanne Williams (artist - Stirling campus Do Better artwork) about
Since June 2020, 40 art installations have been commissioned across the country, from Shetland to the Borders, including, 'Do Better', a new outdoor sculpture by Suzanne Williams on the Stirling
Hosted by Damian Etone (Co-Director of Msc in Human Rights) and Gemma Robinson (Postcolonial Research Group) from the University of Stirling. Organised by the Art Collection and Scene Stirling.
Forest Bathing introductory virtual workshops
3 and 20 March 2021
Introductory workshops into the world of Forest Bathing.
"Nature heals...sitting, sharing space with nature, admiring beauty, or simply playing amongst it...nature is awesome"
Forest Bathing, or Shinrin-yoku is the practise of immersing yourself in nature; ‘bathing’ in the awesome goodness that trees release into the atmosphere; reaping the benefits from magic little things called ‘phytoncides’ and receiving mental calmness from the fractal patterns, vibrant shades of green and calming blues around us.
This session was led by Cath Wright of Highland Quietlife. Cath said:
'During the session I shall be walking amongst the woods in my local area and you may also choose to go for a walk near trees, grass, gardens etc, or you may sit inside near an open window or you could consider sitting with a few houseplants or even vegetables! As your guide I will lead you through a series of what we call ‘invitations’, each one lasting for around 10 minutes and aimed to engage you with one of the senses, to help ground you and calm the mind. If you are not able to go outside to join the walk, you will still be able to benefit and will hopefully find just as much joy investigating your Spider Plant from your armchair, as you would a swaying tall Silver Birch! Traditionally we end a session with tea and snacks and I would ask you to bring something along to complete your walk with'.
Forest Bathing was part of our theme 'The Art of Wellbeing': a series of exhibitions and events exploring
Creating Wellbeing. University Museums in Scotland (UMIS) conference
3 June 2021
This event was recorded and you can listen to it here: Creating Wellbeing (wordpress.com)
The Health and Wellbeing of our communities is of the utmost importance, and perhaps now more than ever
The conference ‘Creating Wellbeing’ explored this area in more detail, calling on experts in the field and
The event was aimed at those working within culture, the arts, and more generally towards the health and
Stirling Photography Festival - Flow Festival 2021
In partnership with Stirling Photography Festival, we put together a wonderful day of events to fire your
We were delighted to have contributions from dancer Grace Turner, TurnAround Dance Theatre and poet Laura
2019 - 2020
For 2019 - 2020 the
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these exhibitions were on display for an extended period.
Alan Dimmick: Photographs at Stirling University, 2017
17 February 2020 - 31 August 2021
Alan Dimmick was the Art Collection’s Photographer in Residence over the course of the University’s 50th anniversary year in 2017. His remit was to capture a ‘Portrait of the Campus’,
Whilst the University archives and Art Collection hold a collection of fine photographs from the early days of the University in the 1960s and ‘70s, relatively little had been done to document and
This exhibition showcased a selection of the photographs taken during Alan’s residency. The full collection has been deposited in the University archive; thus creating a rich artistic, contemporary
Alan Dimmick was born in Glasgow in 1961. He bought his first camera (a Russian Zenith) in 1977, the same year that he converted the toilets in his secondary school annex into a darkroom. He
The Museum without a home: an exhibition of hospitality
27 January - 31 January 2020
Museum Without a Home was an award-winning free exhibition promoting solidarity with migrants. Originally shown in Athens, it has since
Peace be with you: an intervention @ the Blue Boy
13 November 2019 - 20 September 2020
Heidi Gardner and Peter Gardner, a husband-and-wife artist duo, recently visited the Pathfoot Building with their
The loom consists of a 181cm in diameter, 104cm high, circular, wooden French knitting loom. Bringing together
Over the course of a week, visitors were invited to join the artists in a repetitive, simple action of knitting and building
Heidi and Peter, working under the name Gardner & Gardner, have built up their contemporary art practice in
Stirling University Art Club Exhibition
1 February - 12 April 2020
Stirling University Art Club is a student formed and student led club, welcoming a range of abilities and art forms. In this exhibition, our hobbyist club created artwork with a focus
Under Threat: Community resilience to extreme events
15 November 2019 - 31 January 2020
There are gaps in understanding about what community resilience actually is and what it means to those working in
This project was funded by the National Centre for Resilience to Sandra Engstrom, Fiona Millar and Tony Robertson and
The Photographs
As part of the project, we asked for workshop participants and the wider public to submit photographs we could display
About
The research team are part of the Extreme Events research programme at the University of Stirling. The
Contact Us
X: @StirExtreme
Website: www.extremeevents.stir.ac.uk
- Sandra Engstrom is a Lecturer in Social Work with research interests in eco/green social work, including social work
and natural disaster recovery/preparedness, social work and climate change/sustainability and eco therapy. - Fiona Millar is a Research Development Officer with research interests in the sociology of work and management of
precarious careers. - Tony Robertson is a Lecturer in Social Epidemiology and Public Health with research interests in socioeconomic
inequalities and the impact on physiology and health, and grassroots approaches to tackling health inequalities.
Under Threat: In Search of Life by Christian Ziegler
8 November 2019 - 31 December 2020
This exhibition celebrated the tropical splendour of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, but was also a call to action
“We are losing our tropical rainforests and the species that live there. Over the last 50 years logging, cattle ranching,
mining and large-scale agriculture have irreversibly transformed the world’s tropical landscapes. In today’s era of accelerating change- where booming human populations demand more land to feed spiralling consumerism- the deforestation frontier marches onward. All over the world, humans are squeezing our wild places and pushing animals to the very edge of extinction”
Christian Ziegler
Christian Ziegler is an internationally known photojournalist specializing in natural history and science-related topics.
Under Threat: Liberating Landscapes
18 October 2019 - 31 December 2020
In recent years there has been increased discussion regarding access to art collections. Much of the art in public ownership in the UK is hidden away in storerooms. Lack of wall space, and past
The University Art Collection has also recently launched its online catalogue which provides much greater public access.
Above work: James Morrison, Rhum and Eigg (Oil on board, 1983), detail
Under Threat: Major Threats to Forests in a Warmer World: a story of drought and fire
1 November - 4 December 2020
The Art Collection worked with Professor Alistair Jump, Head of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Stirling, to curate this exhibition highlighting impacts of environmental change. Professor Jump is a Global Change Ecologist whose research focusses on understanding and predicting the way that rapid changes to our environment through processes such as climate change, habitat destruction and land-use change will impact the natural systems on which we all ultimately depend.
Images were contributed by environmental professionals working in Argentina, the Catalonian and Guadalajara regions in Spain, New Mexico, California and, closer to home, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Under Threat: Mind Hive by Alec Finlay
29 January - 31 December 2020
Here we showcased the work of artist, poet and University of Stirling alumnus Alec Finlay who returned to his alma mater in 2013 as the University’s first Artist in Residence, to research the
Alec Finlay was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and worked collaboratively between Stirling’s Faculties of Natural Sciences and Arts & Humanities. He collaborated in particular with Professor
His research at Stirling was wide-reaching and explored the symbolism of bees in ancient myth and philosophy, and the recurring motif of the bee in accounts of politics, economics and society. He
He produced a ‘creative survey’ of the UK’s bee population and translated his research into poetry and sculpture. Together with the Art Collection’s curators he installed these permanent
Under Threat: On the Edge by Danni Thompson
15 October 2019 - 4 December 2020
These photographs by Danni Thompson, photographer and seabird ecologist, showed the plight of the UK’s seabird colonies, many
Danni says ‘Since the 1960s our seabird colonies have undergone a national census every 15 years or so, whereby every single breeding seabird in the UK is counted. This allows us to see the
Wildlife is my passion. But seabirds are better. I’ve enjoyed capturing the natural world through a lens since I was knee high. I now work as a Seabird Ecologist for JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation
Under Threat: Seabird Cities by Kieran Dodds
29 November 2019 - 14 May 2021
Kieran Dodds (b. 1980) is a non-fiction photographer known for his research-driven photo stories and portraiture. His personal work considers the interplay of environment and culture, tracing
2019 - 2020 Outreach events
Alan Dimmick Open Archive
9 October 2019
Photographer Alan Dimmick was University Artist in Residence in 2017-2018 during which time he
Peacemakers: an interactive installation
14 October 2019
Staff, students and visitors to the Pathfoot Building were invited to join artists Heidi and Peter Gardner to create a new art
Heidi and Peter worked with a Peacemakers Loom in the Crush Hall of the Pathfoot Building between the 14th and
Peacemakers Loom was a joint project with Janet Foggie, Pioneer Minister at the University, the Art Collection and
The Artists
Heidi Gardner and Peter Gardner, are a husband-and-wife artist duo, working under the name Gardner & Gardner.
Travelling Gallery visit (November 2019)
Travelling Gallery was delighted to work with Alec Finlay to support Day of Access, a powerful campaign which
Travelling Gallery acted as the campaign bus touring Day of Access across Scotland; presenting information
Alec Finlay believes that everyone should have the opportunity to experience wild nature. Himself a disabled artist and
Alongside his own work, Alec has invited other artists and poets to exhibit including Hannah Devereaux, Alison Lloyd, Ken
For more information visit the Travelling Gallery website
Be gardening
26 September 2019 to 5 December 2019
As part of the Art Collection’s environmental-themed exhibitions for the coming year, we hosted a free drop-in gardening club to renovate one of the Pathfoot Courtyards.
Pathfoot Courtyard Garden Open Morning
5 December 2019
Student and staff volunteer gardeners have been renovating the H corridor courtyard in Pathfoot,
Photography Competition: Best Route Shot
10 February - 19 March 2020
As part of the one-year birthday celebration on 2nd April 2020, Landscape Legacies of Coal held a Photography Competition ‘Best Route Shot’.
Yvonne Weighand Lyle selected the winning entry.