Hi & welcome to my blog!

My name is Amy and I am a full time masters student at University of Edinburgh. I will be using this blog to make critical reflections on the key themes explored in my degree course MScR Collections and Curating Practices.

Art as a subject for me has always been both my passion and my desired area for a potential career. I chose to fully immerse myself in the area during college by studying BTEC National Diploma in Art & Design with A-Level Photography and Art Foundation additionally in my third year. Following this I completed a Photography degree at University of Cumbria and found a love for research as well as historical interiors and heritage estates.

A photograph of Keddleston Hall from my final major project, a selection of my final degree work can be found here.

In my final year I photographed heritage spaces exclusively, exploring the romance and intrigue associated with them, what it means to photograph them and also to examine the museum as a context in itself. I hope to carry this interest further in my current course, primarily through my major research project (the mediation and interpretation of Abbotsford House in the borders of Scotland), but also from the influence of the guided group research placement within St Cecilias Hall, core course in collections: theories, practices and methods and option courses within History of Art.

I have transferable vocational experience from working at Starbucks Coffee during and after University. I started off as a Barista and advanced to running a store before moving to Edinburgh where I currently work as a Supervisor. Although management experience has been really valuable for me, it has also reinforced my want to capitalize and cultivate my background in art.

I hope to gain in the guided research placement skills and networks in a new setting, (perhaps Academic?), relating to the field I want to pursue, applying and expanding the vocational skills I already have along the way.