Principal Investigator: Dr Nicôle Meehan
After working in the cultural sector in digital and engagement focused roles (Historic Environment Scotland, Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, National Galleries Scotland), I joined the School of Art History, teaching predominantly on the Museum and Heritage Studies programme.
My research and teaching focuses on the uses of digital technology in museums. I think broadly about the advantages and limitations of such technologies, and the impact of this upon diverse audiences. Specifically I am interested in the digital museum object, positioning it as a generative and polyvocal object that is valuable in its own right. I examine the complex networks of interactions around these objects, as they exist in (post)digital ecologies.
Recently I have drawn upon intersectional internet theory to consider matters of digital access and digital exclusion, paying particular attention to digital colonialism. Current research examines the value-based judgements enacted by museums in the use of digital technologies in relation to the climate crisis.
Research Assistant: Bridget Hardiman (December 2024 – present)
I am currently a doctoral researcher in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews.
My dissertation topic examines the wide-ranging work of Denise Bellon, a French photographer with close ties to surrealism, modern photography, and the photo-press. My research interests more broadly concern the exchange between the avant-garde, photography, and print culture in nineteenth and twentieth century France.
This interest includes the theoretical approach to the production/reproduction of the artistic object, through photography or otherwise. These approaches therefore extend to present-day considerations regarding digitalisation of the object in museums, galleries, and collections.
Research Assistant: Renato Trotta (January 2024 – July 2024)
My academic background is based in Cultural Heritage (BA) and Art History (MA), which I studied at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. I have also cultivated my interest in cross-disciplinary research methodologies with a Master in Neuroaesthetics and an internship at the CReA Lab, University of Vienna. Throughout my academic studies, I have worked across some prominent museums in Italy, such as the National Museum of 21st c. Arts, and the Vatican Museums.
My current research interest focuses on the museum experience of Blind and Partially Blind visitors. In particular, I aim to examine their physiological and psychological involvement with 2.5D and 3D reproductions of artworks; the ultimate goal is to understand their specific needs and unique experience, which in turn could inform policies for special needs visitors` integration in museums, notably visually centered environments.
Laidlaw Scholarship Student: Millie Barker (Summer 2024)
Having completed my first year as an undergraduate at the University studying History of Art, I am grateful to be contributing to this project through the Laidlaw Scholarship programme. I have an academic background in History of Art and Environmental Studies and take modules in Geography and Classical Studies at sub-Honours level.
I am interested in the interconnection between the visual arts and the climate crisis; exploring the interactions between artists, cultural institutions, and the environment, past and present, as well as imagining what future interactions may look like. As my research progresses, I look to centre the ideas of active hope. I will research the different experiences of hope across and in curation with different communities, questioning how hope can be the central axis for social and environmental change within digital policy in museums.
Laidlaw Scholarship Student: Karina Malm (Summer 2023)