“We started rogue decorating”: How a stairwell art exhibit came to life at Crew
We caught up with Lorena Benitez, an organiser behind the new Crew Art Exhibition, as well as Daisy Martinez and Margaret Kerr who worked alongside Lorena to bring it to life, to hear how a forgotten corner of the building became a celebration of creativity, research and community.
Lorena Benitez is a PhD researcher in Savanna Ecologyin the School of GeoSciences
Daisy Martinez is a PhD researcher in Agricultural Ecology in the School of GeoSciences.
Margaret Kerr is a PhD researcher in Contemporary Art at The University of Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design.
So, what was the stairwell space like before?
Lorena: The Crew stairwell previously had an exhibit of student and staff photographs from a decade ago. Unfortunately, it had not been maintained, and almost no one who’s artwork was on display was still affiliated with the University.
How did the new exhibit come about, how were you inspired?
Lorena: A year and a bit ago, there were plans for us to have a budget for renovating our common spaces, so a few of us started putting ideas together about how we wanted the space to look. From the beginning, we knew we wanted to update the artwork in the stairwell.
Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, we didn’t receive the budget to renovate and when we realised that the space was not going to get updated anytime soon, a few people decided to start rogue decorating!
This started with Claudia Colesie and Hannah Wauchope deciding to redecorate the break room in the Crew Building last autumn. Claudia also started up a monthly photo competition to brighten up the space, which has been very successful! Her plan is to make a calendar of the winning photos. Their initiative inspired me to make the stairwell update happen!
How did you plan for people to get involved and share their wonderful artwork?
Lorena: So, we started planning things in October/November last year and advertising for people to contribute their art in December. The theme we gave people for the stairwell exhibition was ‘your experiences in environmental science’.
In January, Daisy and Margaret installed their collection of artwork ‘Field Studies’, and gave a wonderful talk about their artistic collaboration. In February, they ran their art and ecology workshop for the Ecology and Environmental Science programme and in April, people began submitting their own artworks for the Crew Art Exhibition.
Daisy: Margaret and I also worked alongside Lorena to help with the practicalities of putting together the exhibition of artworks by Crew students and staff. This included providing a brief, designing posters and fliers, and framing and hanging the artwork.
Margaret and Daisy, can you tell us more about your collaboration and what led you to work together?
Daisy: Margaret and I spent a field season working together at agricultural sites across southern Scotland. Margaret joined me in my ecological surveys – monitoring botanical diversity, recording the calls of bats flying above the fields, and identifying the moth species gathering in light traps overnight. In turn, I joined Margaret in exploring other ways of bearing witness to these landscapes and their plant and animal inhabitants.
What did your creative process look like during the field season? How did you explore the connection between ecology and art?
Daisy: Through drawing, painting, photography, and writing, we explored the common ground between artistic and scientific ways of working — aspects like close observation, precision, discipline, and an ethic of care. The resulting artwork ‘Field Studies’, now installed in the lower stairwell at Crew, offers a rich picture of the experience of being a field ecologist, seen through both a scientific and creative lens.
Can you tell us more about the workshop you ran with students?
Margaret: Following on from the installation of our artwork, Daisy and I ran an art-ecology workshop for Ecology and Environmental Sciences students. The theme of this workshop was ‘Explore your Science through Art’. We used guided visualisation and mindfulness exercises to help participants settle into a relaxed art-making session where they could focus on what inspired them in their scientific work.
How did you go about getting the artworks ready to display?
Lorena: Edinburgh College of Art was kind enough to print our photos for us and give us their advice. Then, Margaret and Daisy handled the framing. Another PhD student, Galen Costomiris who did the 3D printed artwork featured in the exhibition (after spending months asking people for coordinates of their field sites so he could make the prints) also volunteered to laser cut the signs for all of the artwork using the machines available in the MakerSpace in the main library.
3D printed field sites artwork by PhD student Galen Costomiris
Do you have an exhibit highlight you would like to share?
Lorena: I have always used sewing as a way to process my experiences doing research in Africa, so I really strongly related to Margaret and Daisy’s artwork about the fieldwork they did together.
The exhibition really showcases a great mix of skills! How do you feel about the result?
Lorena: I am very happy with how the exhibit turned out, and excited to hear that we have inspired people in other buildings to potentially do something similar! For me, it is really important that people in the Crew building feel an ownership of the space. We have such a lovely community in Crew, and I see this exhibit as a way to celebrate a space we love and form new connections.
Maragaret: We are inspired and encouraged by everyone’s response to the Crew exhibition and hope that in the coming months we can start facilitating a similar process in other buildings around the campus.
**
The Crew Art Exhibition is now open in the Crew Building (when the building is open) from 9am – 5pm Mondays to Fridays.
Share
