Swing back in time to the 1960s at University’s Festival of Museums event

Guests are invited to swing back in time to the 1960s at an evening of games, songs and film organised by the University of Stirling.

Students pose with items from the 1960s

Guests are invited to swing back in time to the 1960s at an evening of games, songs and film organised by the University of Stirling.

The University is taking part in the Scotland-wide Festival of Museums weekend – an annual three-day celebration of history, culture and arts organised by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS).

The Art Collection is celebrating 50 years of the University of Stirling and all things 1960s, with a tour of its 1967 exhibition, the opportunity to listen to songs and play board games from the sixties, and a free screening of the 1969 film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'.

Curator Jane Cameron said: “We are delighted to be taking part in Festival of Museums this year to celebrate 1967 and 50 years of the University.

“In 1967, the students and staff arriving on campus would have felt themselves part of a young, modern movement. Youth was in the news as never before thanks to the year's Summer of Love, the hippy counterculture, civil rights marches and protests, and above all the revolution in popular music, with its pervading influence on media, fashion and youth lifestyles.

“We want to reflect this history and inspire the same kind of feeling in our students now. We are particularly pleased that as part of the event, current Creative Writing students will be delivering a public reading of work inspired by our 1967 exhibition.”

The 1967 exhibition highlights the Pathfoot building's role in the first year of the University and examines the life of its first students, looking at what they were wearing, listening to and reading as they lounged on Harry Bertoia-designed chairs in this modernist paradise.

Visitors to the event will have the opportunity to listen to the songs of the ‘60s and play board games such as Twister, which was released in 1967. Creative Writing students will also read from their work inspired by the 1967 exhibition.

The event will end with a screening of the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, based on a novel by Muriel Spark.

The University of Stirling event, which is being held in the Pathfoot Building between 6-10pm, is free of charge, but tickets must be booked in advance.

For further information, please contact: art.collection@stir.ac.uk

Background information

The 1967 exhibition runs until 24 August 2018 and features work by artists Bridget Riley, George Wylie, Wilhelmina Barnes Graham and Alan Davie, drawn from the University's Art Collection. Also on show from the collection will be pieces by Patrick Heron, Michael Tyzack and many others.  The Art Collection at the University of Stirling is a collection of contemporary Scottish Art. The Pathfoot Gallery is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.

Pathfoot was the first campus building to be completed and has been praised as “an outstanding example of post-war Modernist Scottish architecture, of international significance” (Category A Listing). The building has hosted the Art Collection since 1967, when the first Principal, Dr Tom Cottrell, insisted that art should be “part of everyday life on the campus”.

Festival of Museums is an annual three-day celebration of history, culture and arts during which museums of all shapes and sizes across Scotland host special events to showcase their unique collections and programmes. Over a single weekend in May, Scotland’s museums come together to throw open their doors, vaults and imaginations to celebrate the magic of history, heritage, and science.

This is event is part of the Muriel Spark 100 programme.

6pm: Doors Open

6pm - 7pm: Tours of the Art Collection including our Music Exhibition - Listening to 1967

7pm - 7.30pm: MLitt in Creative Writing Students Public Reading: work inspired by the 1967 exhibition

7.30pm - 9.30pm: Screening of the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

You may also be interested in