a cafe and working in a bar. I had very little spare cash but I did feel I was making an investment in my future – I could suddenly see career options opening up. I just loved the work – in fact so much so that I went back the following year to work for her again, and she was my referee for all subsequent job applications.
‘I got a 2.1 in history of art. After graduating, I enrolled on the MA in Museum and Gallery Studies at St Andrews – a year-long course running from September to May for the PG Diploma, or until September if you decide to present a dissertation and emerge with a Master’s degree.
‘The course covered all manner of things, from curating temporary exhibitions to researching and developing the university’s permanent collection, and from devising educational programmes to writing marketing materials. We were also given a lot of advice on applying for jobs (preparing an appropriate CV and on what to say in accompanying letters) and how to perform in interviews (what to find out about beforehand, with the offer of practice interviews if needed).
‘We were encouraged to apply for a variety of jobs rather than to be picky and hold out for a specific role and my applications included roles in education, audience development, curatorship and so on. I saw my current job advertised in May and applied immediately, and found out I had been successful in July. The gallery manager and I then negotiated when I would start as she was keen that my dissertation would be finished by the time I began – opportunities to complete it would be limited with a full-time job. I do think that students are often completely unprepared for what hard work it is starting a full-time job after the rather laid back life of a student.
‘My job is varied and no two days are the same. It is my responsibility to curate the Applied Arts and Craft collection. Our craft collection is particularly strong and I suggest ongoing and temporary exhibitions from the permanent collection. There are certain fixtures in our calendar – the Aberdeen Artists’ Society Exhibition every spring and the BP Portrait Award Exhibition, which comes to us after it has been on display at the National Portrait Gallery. We try to have a family-orientated exhibition in the summer and this year it is to be the illustrations of children’s book illustrator Lauren Child.
‘Developing the collection is another of my responsibilities. The purchasing budget is very limited, but when we are offered things to buy we can sometimes make a case for acquisition through the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, and this is how we were able to buy an arts and crafts necklace designed by Ann MacBeth, a key addition to our collection. I attend art fairs and take part in competitions that might bring additional funds and attention to the gallery. For example, I have just been on a trip to New York, for contemporary craft curators in Scotland, and in May I am taking part in the ‘Collect’ craft fair in London. To coincide with this, the Art Fund has invited galleries with a strong collection of crafts to bid for the purchase of an item for their collection. Ten bids have been accepted and five will be chosen – if ours is successful, that means we will gain a new item of specific relevance to our collection, at no cost to us.52
‘I have sought to develop links with the Fine Arts curators within the gallery, and exhibitions we have put on so far have offered a more joined up approach than had previously been the case.
‘I spend time cataloguing what we have, preparing audience information for new exhibitions and educational events, and giving talks to relevant groups in the area. We have a series of lunchtime lectures and I take part in these too. On occasion I help with the packing and transporting of works of art to galleries we are lending to; providing a personal courier service.
‘A part of the job that is seldom considered is the answering of queries from the general public, which takes a lot of my time. The questions come in a variety of formats, from letters and e-mails to people arriving at the front door with an item in a black bin liner. Some want to know something of the item’s provenance, but often they are seeking information on its value – which