Guide to Museums in:


Aberdeen

Dundee

Edinburgh

Glasgow

SCOTLAND

DUNDEE MUSEUMS

McManus Galleries is a Gothic Revival-style building, located in the centre of Dundee. The building houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of fine and decorative art as well as a natural history collection. The concept for the building was originally commissioned as a memorial to Prince Albert and intended to contain room for lectures, museum, picture gallery and a reference library for students by British Association for the Advancement of Science. Currently, much of the McManus collection, which includes works by Dundee-based artists James MacIntosh Patrick and Alberto Morrocco, is located at the former Carnegie Library on Barrack Street.

For more information please contact The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum, Albert Square, Meadowside, Dundee, DD1 1DAm, Scotland, Tel: +44 (0) 1382 307200, E-mail: themcmanus@dundeecity.gov.uk

Front view of the McManus Galleries
Photograph © Ydam

Dundee Contemporary Arts is an art centre in the city of Dundee, Scotland which houses two contemporary art galleries, a two-screen cinema, a print studio, a visual research centre and a café bar. In addition to the art shows and films, DCA has also hosted festivals such as Kill Your Timid Notion which combine experimental music with expanded avant garde cinema and symposia. A large variety of local, national and international artists have had their work presented at DCA, including: Beck's Futures prize winner Roderick Buchanan, Turner Prize winner Simon Starling, Turner Prize nominee Fiona Banner, and acclaimed video artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila. DCA print studio offers a range of classes for both professional and amateur artists and also complete beginners. Unlike many visual research centres, the one run between DCA and the University of Dundee is open to the public. The Centre itself is staffed by researchers and PhD students belonging to the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

For more information regarding Dundee Contemporary Arts please contact Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY, Tel: +44 (0)1382 909 900, E-mail: dca@dca.org.uk

For more information regarding the Visual Research Centre please contact Visual Research Centre, Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY, E-mail: exhibitions@dundee.ac.uk

Dundee Contemporary Arts
Photograph © Ydam

Mills Observatory in Dundee is the only full-time public astronomical observatory in the UK. Built in 1935, the observatory is classically styled in sandstone and has a distinctive 7 m dome, which houses a Victorian refracting telescope, a small planetarium, and display areas. The dome is the only surviving observatory dome in the world made from papier-mâché. The main telescope is a Victorian 0.25m (10 inch) Cooke refractor, with a focal length of 3.75 m. Mills Observatory is also planning to develop a way of capturing and printing the images for visitors to take away with them. The planetarium is based around a Viewlex Apollo projector, which simulates the night sky on a domed roof in a darkened room. Around 1000 stars are displayed, along with the naked eye planets and the Milky Way. Auxiliary units simulate a rotating galaxy, and provide pictures of astronomical objects. The display area is split into two parts. The main area in the centre of the building at ground floor level provides changing displays of pictures and models, and also houses the observatory shop. The upper level provides displays of historic equipment and information of local importance.

For more information and enquiries please contact Balgay Park, Glamis Road, Dundee, Angus, DD2 2UB, Scotland, Tel: +44 (1382) 435967, E-mail: mills.observatory@dundeecity.gov.uk

Tont entrance to Mills Observatory
Photograph © Ydam

Verdant Works is a former jute mill in the Blackness area of Dundee. It is a museum dedicated to textile industry that once dominated the city's economy. It is a rare surviving example of a courtyard-type mill with its original building layout and many original features remaining. As a museum Verdant Works tells the story of Dundee's textile industries, focusing primarily on the jute and linen industries. The production of textiles was the dominant industry in Dundee for many years. The jute collections cover the entire history of the jute industry and relate to topics such as manufacturing, research and development, the end products, quality control, textile engineering, the industry's Indian connections and the lives of the workers. Objects include machinery patterns, jute and flax products, small tools, technical drawings and plans and quality control/testing equipment. The archives and photographic records of various mills and their workers have considerable historical research value. As well as the large machinery objects, the collections cover the fields of industrial history, social history, fine art, archives/business papers, photographs, costume and numismatics.

For more information and enquiries please contact Verdant Works, West Henderson’s Wynd, Dundee, DD1 5BT, Tel: +44 (0)1382 309060, E-mail: admin@dundeeheritage.co.uk

Entrance to Verdant Works
Photograph © David Hawgood