Poem / Print creative workshop
Yes
Swans by Ian Hamilton Finlay, 1974
This creative workshop accompanies our current exhibition in the Tower Foyer Gallery, Ian Hamilton Finlay: Works on Paper, celebrating the centenary of the extraordinary Scottish artist, poet and gardener.
In this workshop, inspired by Finlay's works on paper, participants will create their own pieces of visual poetry or typographical art, using a variety of materials including typeface printing blocks and collage. Using various pieces from our collections as inspiration, we will explore how word placement, visual form and the use of pattern can be used to enrich and alter the meaning of a piece.
All materials will be provided. Please meet in the foyer of the Tower Building, University of Dundee. The workshop will be limited to 12 participants and is recommended for ages 15 and above. Under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.
Image: Swans by Ian Hamilton Finlay & Ron Costley, 1974 (copyright the artists' estates)
£5 / 2.50
Matthew Jarron
Curator
01382 384310
University of Dundee Museums
Art and Design courses
English / Creative Writing / Film Studies courses
Book here
Yes
Yes
Inspired by the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, participants will create their own pieces of visual poetry or typographical art.
Staff
Students
Six Degrees of Healing: Politics, Patients, and Joyful Resistance: School of Medicine’s Jainti Dass Saggar Lecture
No
The lecture is named after Dr Jainti Dass Saggar (1898-1954), who holds a pivotal part in Dundee’s social and medical history.
Dr Isioma Okolo is a Nigerian Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist dedicated to addressing inequalities in health—both within countries and globally—through her work as a physician, surgeon, researcher, community organiser, and writer. In this year’s Jainti Dass Saggar Lecture, Dr. Isioma Okolo illuminates the profound connections between global health, policy, politics, and patient care in Scotland through the lens of “six degrees of separation.” Drawing on her experience in global health, community engagement, and clinical practice, she reflects on how health inequalities—rooted in structural forces such as racism and economic exclusion—shape lives both locally and globally.
All are welcome to join this free event.
Venue: Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Level 7, Ninewells Hospital
Six Degrees of Healing: Politics, Patients, and Joyful Resistance
In this year’s Jainti Dass Saggar Lecture, Dr. Isioma Okolo illuminates the profound connections between global health, policy, politics, and patient care in Scotland through the lens of “six degrees of separation.” Drawing on her experience in global health, community engagement, and clinical practice, she reflects on how health inequalities—rooted in structural forces such as racism and economic exclusion—shape lives both locally and globally.
In 2025, it is too easy to become numb to the overwhelming challenges of global health: humanitarian crises, forced displacement, climate change, antimicrobial resistance, pandemic preparedness, non-communicable diseases, digital inequity, structural racism, and workforce gaps. For clinicians who work at the edge of life and death, witnessing suffering is a daily reality—and with it comes both vulnerability and a unique privilege: the power to advocate for change.
Dr. Okolo’s lecture invites medical professionals to see their clinical practice as inseparable from global health systems and to embrace the idea of ‘joyful resistance.’ By cultivating proximity, courage, and curiosity, she reframes the challenges of global health not as a source of despair, but as a call to action. This talk challenges clinicians to bridge the gap between individual healing and systemic collective transformation—turning compassion into advocacy and witnessing suffering into purposeful action.
In the face of suffering, healthcare workers must look closer not away. By acting boldly with curiosity, we find joy in resisting injustice while healing.
Dr Isioma Okolo's biography
Dr Isioma Okolo is a Nigerian Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist dedicated to addressing inequalities in health—both within countries and globally—through her work as a physician, surgeon, researcher, community organiser, and writer.
She is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. In 2022, she completed dual research fellowships at Harvard Medical School and Connor’s Centre for Gender and Biology. Dr. Okolo is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG).
Having trained and worked across four continents—Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East—Dr. Okolo brings a unique perspective on healthcare across low-, middle-, and high-income settings. She has led initiatives to improve outcomes in resource-limited environments, combining clinical expertise with innovative research and a nuanced understanding of global health disparities. Her international experience positions her as a powerful advocate for building equitable healthcare systems worldwide.
Beyond her clinical and research work, Dr. Okolo is a passionate champion for women’s health and equity. She has served on the UN Women UK delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the Scottish Government Group on Racialised Maternal Inequalities, and the RCOG Race Equality Taskforce. She is also actively involved in grassroots organisations, including KWISA (Women of African Heritage in Scotland), AMMA Birthing Companions, and Global Health Partnerships (formerly THET).
Dr Okolo is the author of the thought-provoking blog ‘Echi Di Ime’—Igbo for “no one knows tomorrow”—where she explores the intersections of personal growth, health, wellbeing, and social justice.
No
Yes
The School of Medicine’s Annual Black History Month Lecture celebrating the scientific advances and successful careers of our colleagues from underrepresented backgrounds
Standing Firm against Discrimination: A conversation cafe
No
Black History Month
In this conversation café, PC Kayleigh Skinner from Police Scotland, will talk to us about the actions and support of Police Scotland in relation to hate crime and other forms of discrimination. This event is open to all staff and students. No booking required. Please feel free to walk with your lunch!
No
Yes
A workshop led by Police Scotland, raising awareness of how to report discrimination and the support the police offers
‘Regulation of PARP1 activity and DNA repair capacity by the c-Abl kinase Banf1 nexus’
No
Research
Host: Tom Owen Hughes
Venue: Sir Kenneth & Lady Noreen Murray Seminar Room, CTIR 2.84
Abstract:
Maintaining genome integrity requires precise regulation of DNA repair enzymes, yet how these activities are switched on and off remains incompletely understood. In this seminar, I will present our discovery of a novel regulatory axis connecting the tyrosine kinase c-Abl, the nuclear envelope protein BANF1, and the DNA repair enzyme PARP1. We find that c-Abl phosphorylates both BANF1 and PARP1, enabling BANF1 to move from a dimer to a monomer, where it binds directly to NAD+ binding pocket of PARP1. Strikingly, BANF1 binding, within the NAD⁺ binding pocket of PARP1, also requires c-Abl phosphorylation of PARP1 at Y907. BanF1 functions as a steric inhibitor, sitting over the NAD+ binding pocket of PARP1, preventing catalytic activity and thereby blocking DNA repair. This c-Abl–BANF1–PARP1 nexus represents a new mechanism by which kinase signaling controls DNA repair capacity, with this nexus having specific implications in the natural ageing process and disease.
Bio:
Derek Richard was educated in Dundee! He went to school at Menzieshill High School, then studied at Dundee University as an undergraduate and PhD student. He finished his PhD supervised by David Boxer in 199. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Stefan Roberts in Gene Regulation before moving to St Andrews to study Archaea DNA repair proteins with Malcolm White. He moved to Queensland in 2004 to join the team of Prof Kum Kum Khanna at QIMR and was the first to characterise the human SSB family of proteins, then moved his research team to the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at QUT in Feb 2011. He is currently Scientific Director of the Cancer and Ageing Research Program and Director of the Queensland Centre for Drug Target Screening. His research group have made important contributions to the understanding of genome stability, resulting in clinical trials and the establishment of spin out companies.
No
Yes
SLS Alumni Seminar by Professor Derek Richard Cancer & Ageing Research Program Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Staff
United Kingdom
From Clay to Kiln: Celebrating the Evolution of Ceramics at DJCAD
No
Plate from the series Great Granny's Garden by Shannon McQuade, 2024
Patterned Birds by Veera Krouglov, 2016
From Clay to Kiln brings together pieces from the DJCAD Collection along with key works from recent graduates whose practices have shaped - and continue to shape - the history and legacy of ceramics at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design.
The exhibition has been curated by recent DJCAD graduates Claire Marion Black, Alana Brand, Joy Jennings and Sara Oussaiden, who have formed the collective Dundee Ceramics Showcase
Open Monday-Friday 9.30am-7pm (last entry 5pm). Closed for Christmas 22 December – 2 January.
Join us for a social evening and informal tour of the exhibition from the curators on Tuesday 9 December, 5.30-6.45pm.
Header image: Patterned Birds by Veera Krouglov, 2016 (DJCAD Collection, copyright the artist)
Main image: Plate from the series Granny's Garden by Shannon McQuade, 2024 (DJCAD Collection, copyright the artist)
A Brief History of Ceramics at DJCAD
1888 - What eventually becomes DJCAD is founded as part of Dundee Technical Institute. Clay modelling is introduced sometime before 1900.
1909 – James Duncan of Jordanstone dies leaving a bequest to found an independent art school. Pottery is one of the subjects that he specifies it should teach.
1933 – After a lengthy dispute, agreement is reached that the Art College should use the Duncan bequest to establish a new building separate from the Technical College.
1955 – The first wing of the Crawford Building opens for Modelling & Sculpture. Talks begin on establishing a ceramics facility.
1962 – A fully equipped Pottery studio is opened, run by Donald Logie.
1968 – Ceramics is approved by the Scottish Education Department as a specialist pathway for the Design diploma.
1980 – The College now offers a BA degree in Ceramics.
1994 - DJCAD becomes part of the University of Dundee.
2003 - The Ceramics department is shut down due to university-wide financial pressures.
2006 - After great demand, Ceramics reopens in a smaller facility led by Sean Kingsley.
2016 – Dundee Ceramics Workshop is founded by DJCAD graduate initiative Tin Roof Arts Collective, creating new shared workshop access in the city.
2024 - Sean Kingsley retires and the University's financial crisis raises questions about the future of the Ceramics facility.
Find out more about University of Dundee Museums
Free
Matthew Jarron
Curator
01382 384310
University of Dundee Museums
Art and Design courses
Book here
No
Yes
An exhibition by Dundee Ceramics Showcase and the University of Dundee Museums of historic and contemporary ceramics from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design.
Staff
Students