Tag: History of Art Edinburgh

2022-23 History of Art Work Placement Highlights

Alina Sinelnyk/ / Curatorial activities, News and Updates, Our Graduate Students, Our Undergraduate Students

This past academic year the History of Art department partnered with 25 cultural institutions, based across Scotland and beyond, resulting in a rich array of work placement opportunities for our undergraduate and postgraduate students, from curatorial work to arts management and beyond. Through this programme students and institutions were able to work together to further/support institutional projects, including contributing to web and social media platforms, outreach programmes, marketing and research and conservation tasks. While there were many success stories this past year, here are a few examples showcasing the programme’s potential for both the students and the participating/partner institutions.

As part of her placement at the Summerlee Museum in North Lanarkshire, undergraduate student Neha wrote a blog post about an overlooked in Art History Scottish woman artist Amelia Frood, which is available to read on the North Lanarkshire Council’s CultureNL website. To help expand her research on the artist (which Neha undertook across a variety of Scotland-based archives), Neha also reached out through an article in a national newspaper to the wider public to find members of the local community who may have personally known Frood or her circle. Following the end of the placement, Neha went on to co-curate an exhibition on Scottish artist Millie Frood, which is currently held at the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre in Motherwell from 3rd February to 6th May.

Cover of the Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections Newsletter 01 (Spring 2023)
Image credit:
https://digitallabivcc.com/uncategorized/spring-2023-newsletter-now-available/.

Working for the Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections, undergraduate Fine Art student Aisha and postgraduate MSc student Isabella collaboratively helped co-edit and design a spring edition of the newsletter (image on the left), highlighting the Digital Lab’s latest projects, such as the development of Digital Munya 2.0, which is ‘an immersive 3D digital experience and imaginative visualisation of a medieval Islamic villa (Arabic munya)’. The newsletter sign-up information can be found on the host institution’s website.

Postgraduate student Jie and undergraduate student Rachel did their placement at the Alasdair Gray Archive, organising and cataloguing digital assets, or creating video content among other tasks. The students worked as part of a team to make the artist’s writing and artwork more accessible and found the archive’s education activities to be inspirational. Learn more about Jie and Rachel’s experiences on the placement in the archive’s video series: In the Archive – Student Stories: Gao Jie and In the Archive – Student Stories: Rachel Hartley.

A website advert of a Friday tour by Owen Kelly, held on Friday 12 May, 12.30 pm. The advert features an artwork illustration: Moyra Davey, 'Copperheads No. 401-407, Janis J. Portikus,' 1990-2017.
Illustrated artwork: Moyra Davey, ‘Copperheads No. 401-407, Janis J. Portikus,’ 1990-2017. Courtesy of Talbot Rice Gallery. Photo: Sally Jubb. Image credit: https://www.trg.ed.ac.uk/events.

Among other tasks, undergraduate student Charalambia contributed to researching potential ideas and speakers for the Talbot Rice Gallery’s series of events Friday Tours. For example, Charalambia’s research helped with the organisation of the talk (in conjunction with the exhibition The Accursed Share) by Owen Kelly of the University of Edinburgh Business School and the Edinburgh Futures Institute (image on the right), who reflected on the interconnection between debt and justice through the lens of the philosophical thought of Aristotle, Plato and the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. Read more about the event here.

As part of her work supporting the major exhibition of Peter Howson’s work at the City Art Centre, postgraduate student Mia helped to produce a podcast series When the Apple Ripens. In conversation with the show’s curator, she delved into a single painting in each episode to facilitate our understanding of these challenging and complex artworks. Find out more by listening to the podcast.

We look forward to sharing more success stories in the coming year.

The Work Placement Team

-Dr Alina Sinelnyk (Undergraduate History of Art Work Placement Course Organiser)

-Dr Keava McMillan (Postgraduate History of Art Work Placement Course Organiser)

-Dr Elysia Lechelt  (History of Art Work Placement Programme Director)

Knots and Threads: A Workshop with Antonio Pichillá

iselejan/ / Research, Workshops and Events
Colour photograph showing students holding wooden sticks to aid artist Antonio Pichilla in demonstrating pattern design.
ECA students aiding artist Antonio Pichillá in laying out and preparing a design for weaving, ECA Campus, May 2023

This May we had the privilege of hosting a textiles workshop with Maya Tzʼutujil artist Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín for History of Art and Art students at the ECA. Organised together with the School of Art, this bi-lingual event (in Spanish and English) consisted of an introduction to Pichillá’s practice, followed by a demonstration of traditional Maya Tz’utujil weaving techniques and pattern design.

Colour photograph showing artist Antonio Pichilla as he is speaking to a group of students and faculty seated around picnic tables on the ECA campus courtyard. He is seen from the side, with short hair, wearing a blue jacket over a shirt with colourful geometric designs, bright green grass in the background.
Weaving Workshop with Antonio Pichillá, ECA Campus, May 2023

I have known Pichilla for almost a decade, and have previously spent some time conducting research in his home town San Pedro La Laguna on the shores of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan highlands. While deeply invested in working with textiles, Pichillá’s practice expands across multiple media, including painting, sculpture, installation and performance. The artist explained some of the main concepts behind the practice of weaving in relation to Maya cosmovision. A fascinating discussion concerning the use of textile in contemporary art ensued, with participating students and faculty members considering current trends in global museums, and the implications for indigenous communities which continue to use ancestral pattens and motifs in their everyday. Pichillá spoke of the ways in which his work as a contemporary indigenous artist is in dialogue both with his community and with international audiences.

Colour photograph showing students holding wooden sticks to aid artist Antonio Pichilla in demonstrating pattern design.
Artist Antonio Pichillá showing pattern layout and design in preparation for weaving, ECA Campus, May 2023

Students and staff had an opportunity to participate in the workshop, learning how to design a pattern in preparation for weaving. Pichillá then demonstrated the use of backstrap loom, the type traditionally used by Maya communities throughout Guatemala. Generally, the loom would connect to the weaver’s belt and be supported by the trunk of a tree. As he explained, the most arduous task is laying out and counting the threads, making sure that the pattern is clearly established before one can begin to weave. After that, it is a question of patiently weaving the textile, building up one line at a time.

Colour photograph showing artist Antonio Pichilla demonstrating pattern design and weaving techniques. Workshop participants are helping him handle the loom. To the right, a student is taking pictures on a mobile device.
Artist Antonio Pichilla demonstrating techniques for using a Maya backstrap loom. ECA Campus, May 2023

Thank you to all who participated and especially to Antonio for his generosity in sharing his knowledge and work with us!

Colour photograph showing artist Antonio Pichilla is holding a backstrap loom, with threads in green, pink and blue. He is seen from the side, with short hair, wearing a blue jacket over a shirt with colourful geometric designs, bright green grass in the background.
Artist Antonio Pichilla explaining the main features of a Maya backstrap loom. ECA Campus, May 2023

Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín is a Guatemalan artist, born in 1982. His work has been exhibited at numerous international venues, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, the Kathmandu Triennale, the Hessel Museum of Art / CCS Bard, and is included in the permanent collection of the Museo Reina Sofía, Tate Modern and Kadist Art Foundation. A selection of recently acquired work is currently on view at Tate Modern. 

Written by: Dr. Ileana L. Selejan, Lecturer in Art History, Culture and Society, History of Art, ECA