Arts Strategy

The University Court originally approved an Arts Strategy on 15 December 1997. This was prepared against a background of merger with Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (1994), growing partnership with Dundee City Council and the need to provide a framework for reference which would facilitate collaboration with other organisations. The present document is an updated version of the Strategy, taking into account developments over the three years since it was first produced, and was approved by the Court on 25 June 2001.

Introduction

1 The University's Mission Statement includes the following aspiration: 'Building on the long and admirable tradition of higher education in Scotland, the University will enhance further its international and national standing and will contribute significantly to social, cultural and economic well-being and to improvements in the quality of life.' This document sets out a strategy by which the University intends to fulfil that part of its Mission in the area of the Arts and cultural activities in general.

Aims

2.1 The University's Arts Strategy is based on the following aims:

• to consolidate and improve the cultural life of the University, paying particular attention to the need to co-ordinate the existing broad range of activities in the Arts and to maintain high standards;
• to encourage a multi-disciplinary and complementary approach to the development of the Arts in the University, utilising when appropriate the potential of advanced technology;
• to promote the University through the publicising of its history, its achievements in the Arts and its cultural activities in general;
• to make the cultural resources of the University accessible to students, to staff and to the local and wider community;
• to encourage participation in and appreciation of the Arts by students, staff and the local community;
• to foster partnerships with Dundee City Council and other Arts providers.

2.2 In the succeeding sections further details are given of current activities in the Arts, as well as priorities for development in the light of the aims enunciated above.

2.3 The University publicises the Arts and other cultural activities through its own leaflet, produced once each term from Bonar Hall, and in addition contributes to the City Council's publication 'The Accent'. Use is also made of the World Wide Web and the provision of information in this medium will be further developed in future.

Visual Arts

3.1 The University possesses, in its Faculty of Duncan of Jordanstone College, one of the leading academic centres for Art and Design in Scotland. The College has its own exhibitions programme, based on four galleries which are open to the public, organised and run by the University's Exhibitions Service, comprising a professional Curator with technical and other assistance. The full and varied programme supports the teaching and research activities of the Schools of Architecture, Design, Fine Art and Television & Imaging and provides opportunities for students to put their training into practice; it also acts as a showcase for experienced and emerging artists including members of staff. The University also has exhibition spaces for general purposes in the University Tower Building (Foyer and Lamb Gallery), as well as in the Bonar Hall, and exhibitions here include collaboration with the Archives, Museum Collections and other disciplines. An average of 20 exhibitions a year are produced, together with many more informal events and projects. The majority of exhibitions originate from within the UK with an increasing number of artists from abroad. The Exhibitions Service initiates around six exhibitions per year, one of which will be a touring exhibition with income-generating potential.

3.2 Commercial sponsorship is secured for all student exhibitions and some other projects. External funding is also obtained from the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) and various Trusts. Discussions have taken place with the SAC in relation to audience development and an improved organisational infrastructure, based on the existing galleries, as a prerequisite for increased external funding. The Curator provides externally funded training opportunities for visual arts graduates; valuable experience is gained in this way, which increases their prospects of obtaining further employment in the Arts, and helps to sustain the artistic community in Tayside.

3.3 The School of Fine Art in Duncan of Jordanstone College has a long tradition of offering non-vocational classes in drawing, painting and clay modelling. The teaching staff are practising artists who have considerable experience in tutoring both beginners and more established amateur artists. Children's Saturday morning art classes cater for a wide spectrum of young people of secondary school age from all backgrounds; while fifth and sixth year pupils find that the evening drawing classes and the advanced Saturday morning art classes have been particularly useful in providing additional portfolio material to support applications to the four Scottish Art Colleges. An additional benefit from these non-vocational classes, especially for younger participants, is the opportunity afforded to view the many exhibitions mounted in the College Galleries during the year. Various events on the history and theory of art, including open lectures and conferences, are organised during the year and links are being developed in this area with the Department of History. The innovative, international publication 'Transcript' is published by Manchester University Press in collaboration with the School of Fine Art. This is published biannually in book form and is available through libraries and art bookshops.

3.4 The University's involvement with visual arts programmes in the highly acclaimed Dundee Contemporary Arts is well established through the Visual Research Centre of the Faculty of Duncan of Jordanstone College. Since its opening in 1999, the development of DCA has engendered significant public interest in contemporary visual culture. For the University this project represents an important partnership with the local authority. DCA makes a significant contribution to the cultural life of the City and of the University. Its proximity to the University campus broadens and strengthens cultural facilities in the locality (the developing 'cultural quarter'), and the University is thus more favourably placed in terms of recruitment of staff and students in a highly competitive market. In addition the Visual Research Centre has enhanced the University's work, locally, nationally, and internationally.

3.5 Research activities in the Visual Research Centre have centred on publishing (both traditional and electronic, including CD-Rom and the World Wide Web), 3-D modelling and prototyping, video installation, animation, robotics and sound work, in addition to theoretical aspects of the visual disciplines. Collaborative projects and industrial links through the IMC (Integrated Manufacturing Centre) have assisted researchers to work with specific companies at local, national and international level.

Historic Collections

4.1 The University has museum collections in the following subject areas: Anatomy, Botany, Chemistry, Dentistry, Design, Engineering, Ethnography, Fine Art, Mathematics, Medicine, Modern Art, Pathology, Physics, Physiology, Psychology and Zoology. The collections are managed by a professional Curator and the standards of care achieved have been recognised with the award of Registered Museum status by the Museums & Galleries Commission (now Resource).

4.2 In addition to being representative of the history of the University, the collections are available for research by those based within or outside the University and may be viewed at any time by arrangement with the Curator. They are also made available for teaching purposes; the zoological and scientific collections in particular are used regularly by art students as a subject for illustration and an inspiration in producing works in other media. The collections also provide training opportunities for students and volunteers interested in gaining valuable museum and heritage experience.

4.3 The University is committed to enhancing public access to the museum collections and the Curator will deliver at least one major exhibition annually, targeted at the general public, based on these collections. This is usually held in the Lamb Gallery, but the Curator also creates a programme of temporary displays in the Foyer of the Tower Building and, in collaboration with Library staff, at the University Library. The Medical History Collection has its own permanent display area, open to the public, in Ninewells Hospital and Medical School. The Fine Art Collection is displayed in University House, Bonar Hall, the Chaplaincy and other public areas and meeting rooms around the campus. Works are rotated at least every five years in order to increase access to this aspect of the University's heritage. The University also engages in loan arrangements for the exhibition of its collections elsewhere, and aims to encourage collaborative projects with other arts and heritage institutions both locally and further afield. Use of the collections internally and externally increases awareness of the history of the institution and enhances its prestige.

4.4 The University has a central repository for museum collections which have been rescued from unsuitable storage conditions or which are temporarily at risk. Otherwise the collections are dispersed across the University within various departments. It is an institutional aspiration to house all of the collections in a dedicated museum building on the University campus. This would form a significant part of the development of a "cultural quarter" in Dundee, and has the potential to become one of the most important interfaces between the University and the city. It is recognised that this would be a major initiative requiring recurrent funding which would have to be found largely from external sources. The immediate aim, therefore, is to estimate the resources required and investigate possible sources of funding.

4.5 The University Archives acquire and manage collections in accordance with the Records Policy and the Archives Acquisitions Policy approved by Court. The collections are managed by a team of professional archivists. The principal collections comprise: University Muniments; the Manuscript Collection, containing primarily business archives; manuscripts of the Brechin diocese of the Episcopalian Church; the Tayside Health Board Archive; and the Michael Peto photographic collection. Two local special book collections are also managed by the Archives. The core management of the archival collections is supported by the University, supplemented by external funding from various sources. The collections are used in a number of ways: to support teaching and research; to provide for exhibition display; and to promote the history of the University, internally, locally and nationally.

4.6 The Archives actively seeks external funding to facilitate additional exploitation of the collections and enhanced maintenance. Recent projects have included Non-Formula Funding for Specialised Research Collections in the Humanities, provided under the Follett programme, to increase awareness of and access to the archival collections; and a Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network (SCRAN) project which provided digital images. Recent extensive funding from the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP) is producing web-based high quality digital images from large format architectural drawings, which represent the development of Scotland's built environment from Industrialisation (The Drawn Evidence). Further funding has also been forthcoming from partner RSLP projects, led by other higher education institutions, one of which is digitising and web-mounting 22,000 photographs from the Michael Peto photographic collection (The Visual Evidence). Another, the Gateway to the Archives of Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) is producing an integrated gateway to the higher education institution records of Scotland.

Music

5.1 Friday lunchtime concerts in the Chaplaincy are a well-established tradition in the University and the annual programme of 32 concerts is the mainstay of musical activity in the University. Performances are given not only by members of the University, but also by musical groups and individuals from local schools as well as external organisations as far afield as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Napier University and the University of St Andrews. These concerts are well publicised in the local press and are very well attended, thus helping to promote the University as well as encouraging interest in music. The concerts are arranged by the University's part-time Music Coordinator. The content ranges from modern jazz to Scottish to classical music.

5.2 In addition, 5 or 6 substantial evening concerts are staged throughout the year, although currently on an irregular basis. The University will continue to promote such concerts and will seek the participation of artists of international eminence. In addition, the University will encourage local schools to take advantage of the opportunities to take part in masterclasses and workshops offered by the performers. The University has two concert venues: the Bonar Hall and the Chaplaincy Centre. The Bonar Hall has an excellent Bosendofer piano, which is ideal for all the various musical activities staged in the Hall but measures need to be taken to improve the acoustics. The Chaplaincy has a new Boston piano and a Peter Collins organ, which make it an attractive venue for piano and organ recitals as well as small music groups. Its acoustics are excellent. It should be noted that the University has two of the four good concert pianos in the City.

5.3 The Students' Association of course has its own programme of musical entertainment, which includes live bands performing rock, dance and other types of popular contemporary music on Friday nights, and occasionally mid-week as well, during term-time.

5.4 The main outlets for student and staff participation in musical activities are the concerts and productions of the University Music Society and the University Operatic Society (see paragraph 6.3 below) The Music Society has an orchestra, a choir, a chamber choir and a big band. The Society normally gives two evening performances a year in Bonar Hall (December and March). The choir usually gives a carol concert (the last lunchtime concert in the Autumn Term) and the other groups normally give one other lunchtime concert each during the year. In addition the Chamber Choir go abroad each Easter for a short tour. It is hoped that the Big Band will also be able to participate in an annual tour but this has not been possible to arrange so far. The big band usually performs twice annually in the lunchtime concert programme and sometimes gives evening concerts in Bonar Hall or elsewhere (e.g. Dundee Rep). In addition to these student run groups, there is a string ensemble, staff choir and Bach Choir which rehearse during lunchtimes throughout term time.

5.5 Contact with other musical organisations is maintained, e.g. the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Dundee Chamber Music Club and Dundee Symphony Orchestra. Such links will continue to be fostered by the University and a high priority will be attached to cooperation with the local authority. The University will maintain and endeavour to increase its provision of extra-mural courses to stimulate interest in music. Ideally there should be coordination with the City so that courses are relevant to concerts which are actually being mounted.

5.6 One deficiency in the present arrangements is the lack of an adequate and permanent rehearsal space. Current accommodation is satisfactory, but not big enough for the University orchestra. In addition to a large rehearsal room, there should ideally also be smaller adjacent rooms for music lessons, with all facilities being available throughout the day. The University will continue to address this problem.

5.7 It is the University's intention also that all residential complexes owned by the University should each normally have at least one room containing a piano where students can practise. The residences that currently meet this requirement are Belmont, West Park and Peterson.

Performing Arts

6.1 The Lip Theatre Company is the University's main student drama society. Its current agenda is to provide two productions annually in Dundee: a comedy review before Christmas in the Students' Association and a main show in the spring/early summer in the Bonar Hall or some similar venue. Following an earlier success with 'Braveheart II: Braveharder' (written by members of the Company), which enjoyed a huge success at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Company now aspires to make this a regular occurrence, taking either the main production or some other offering to Edinburgh. In addition to rehearsing for productions, Lip members participate in weekly workshops in acting, set design, lighting etc as well as theatre trips.

6.2 The Mediaeval Drama Group was formed in 1992 under the auspices of the Department of English; the majority of its participants are students in the Department, although students from elsewhere in the University, as well as some staff and former students, are currently involved. One production is mounted annually in the Spring Term, chosen from the drama of the 14th - 16th centuries. The Group strives for authenticityand makes imaginative use of local venues, having performed in churches in Dundee and St Andrews as well as the castle ruins in St Andrews. Recent developments are the Group's participation in festivals abroad (in Denmark and Holland), funded by the International Society for Mediaeval Theatre, and collaboration with the Centre for Applied Language Studies in multi-lingual productions.

6.3 The Operatic Society mounts one production annually in the Bonar Hall and gives a lunchtime concert in the Spring Term. Musicals tend to be the usual fare but they occasionally do light opera. Shortage of space for rehearsal and storage is a recurrent problem, which will be addressed by the University. Interest in opera is sustained through Dundee University Opera Club, which organises trips to Scottish Opera performances in Glasgow. The University also offers adult education courses about opera through its continuing education programme.

Literature

7.1 The University supports locally created new writing through its Creative Writing Fellowship, held by successive Writers in Residence over the last 25 years. Recent Fellows have included Don Paterson, Kathleen Jamie, Sean O'Brien and John Burnside. Besides working on their own projects, the Creative Writers hold workshops and one-to-one meetings with student writers, as well as taking part in writing and literary activities throughout the University - from creative collaborations with artists in the Faculty of Duncan of Jordanstone College to seminars for undergraduate medical students on the uses of literature and storytelling. The Writers in Residence also interact more directly with the wider community by fostering schemes such as the 'Writers Live' programme supported by the Scottish Arts Council, which featured authors reading and discussing their work with an audience.

7.2 Another literary initiative by the University is the Dundee Book Prize, a joint venture with the Dundee City of Discovery Campaign which also has the backing of the Scottish publishers Polygon. Commencing in 1998 with a cash prize of £6,000, the first of its kind in Scotland, the Dundee Book Prize is a showcase for new literary talent and is now a regular event. The first competition led to the publication of at least five novels.

7.3 Dundee Book Events, a body with a significant University element, has run a very successful programme of author visits bringing leading and popular names such as Victoria Glendinning, Joanna Trollope, Alan Spence, Ian Rankin, Colin Baxter, David Lodge, P D James and Kazuo Ishiguro to their public meetings at the University. One of these events was the first meeting in Dundee of the Scottish Branch of the Society of Authors.

7.4 The University has its own literary magazine, which for some 20 years ran under the title of 'Gallimaufry': more recently it was relaunched as 'Eric'. There is normally one issue annually (in abeyance in 1996/97), which contains a mixture of original poems and short stories, together with occasional reviews. The input is mainly from students, but there are also staff contributions. This continues a tradition of involvement in literary magazine publication at the University (and at its antecedents) which can be traced back almost a century.

Objectives

8.1 In sustaining a strategy for the Arts, the University has been able to identify several priorities which will continue to be the focus for action: