Unveiling of gateway galleries

The first ever dedicated exhibition space for the University of St Andrews’ museum collections will be officially unveiled next week (Wednesday 28 September 2005).

The Gateway Galleries, housed in the entrance area of The Gateway on the North Haugh, will be opened by Dr Charles Saumarez Smith, Director of the National Gallery, London. The permanent exhibition displays highlights from the collections. Through the three themes of University Life, Changing World and Connections, the galleries use artefacts to tell the story of the University and its people.

Star items include James Gregory’s Reflecting Telescope, the Parliament Chair which was used in 1645-6 when the Scottish Parliament met in St Andrews, the Kaleidoscope invented by Sir David Brewster; fossil fish from Dura Den and Tom Morris’s golf club.

The first temporary exhibition in the galleries will be Views of St Andrews, featuring books, prints, paintings, photographs and film footage.

Prior to the opening, Dr Saumarez Smith will give a public lecture to celebrate the launch of the Museums, Galleries and Collections Institute (MGCI), a new research facility based in the School of Art History.

The institute will undertake research, education and training in cultural heritage, with a particular focus on museums, art galleries and historic houses and their collections. It is founded upon the expertise built up over many years from running Museum and Gallery Studies courses, which have helped to establish St Andrews as Scotland’s leading centre for training and research in the heritage sector.

The launch lecture, Art History and the Museum, will take place on Wednesday 28 September 2005 at 5.15 pm in the Physics Lecture Theatre A, School of Physics and Astronomy, North Haugh, and will be open to the public, free of charge.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS

You are invited to send a reporter/photographer to the opening of the Gateway Galleries at 6.30pm on Wednesday 28 September 2005.

For information about the Institute, contact Ann Gunn on telephone 01334 462356 or email [email protected]

For information and pictures about Gateway Galleries, contact David Hopes on telephone 01334 452417 or email [email protected]

Issued by Beattie Media On behalf of the University of St Andrews For more information, please contact Claire Grainger, Press Officer – 01334 462530, 07730 415 015 or [email protected]; Ref: press releases/arthist2005 View the latest University news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk