The Call of the Sea - An Exhibition by Museum Services for Dundee's WestFest

Atlantic Surf by William McTaggart, 1899 (courtesy of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group)

Scottish artists have long been fascinated by the sea and by our relationship with it. This exhibition showcases items as diverse as early 19th century landscape painting and contemporary mixed-media works and includes items by famous names such as William McTaggart and Ian Hamilton Finlay alongside the work of students from the University's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

The exhibition includes a special focus on the work of Will Maclean (Emeritus Professor of Fine Art), in celebration of his 70th birthday this year. As well as rarely seen works from the University's own collections, the exhibition includes loans from both public and private collections. It has been specially curated as part of the WestFest festival in Dundee which runs 13th-19th June.

The exhibition is in the Lamb Gallery of the University's Tower Building and can be viewed Monday-Friday 09:30-20:30 and 9:30-16:30 on Saturdays, 14th May-25th June.

Our exhibition spaces - No. 2, The Tayside Medical History Museum

The main exhibition space for the Tayside Medical History Museum is in the foyer of the Medical School at Ninewells Hospital. Here we have both permanent displays and various exhibitions. The space is open daily 9am-5pm and by appointment at other times.

We also have a temporary display case in the main concourse of Ninewells and two permanent displays; the Dundee Royal Infirmary Memorial Wall which is in the concourse and a display of early X-ray equipment in the Radiology department.

Various works of art also decorate the Medical School foyer area and lecture theatres.

Dundee to Damascus - An Exhibition by Museum Services

The latest exhibition in the University's Tower Foyer Gallery features stunning black and white photographs of the cities of Dundee and Damascus, taking the viewer on a journey from one great city to the other.

The pictures are the work of local photographer Mandy MacFarlane. Striking views of the Tay Bridge, the McManus and other local landmarks are accompanied by images of the Great Umayyad Mosque and scenes of people going about their day-to-day business at the Souk Al-Hamadiye and in other parts of the ancient city of Damascus.

Mandy MacFarlane is a self-taught photographer who has worked at the University as a tutor for the Academic Achievement Unit. She uses an SLR camera with 35mm black and white film and hand-prints her own photographs.

The exhibition runs until 18 June in the Tower Building. Admission is free.

Our exhibition spaces - No. 1, The Lamb Gallery

The Lamb Gallery, University of Dundee

The Lamb Gallery is our largest exhibition space and can be found on the first floor of the University's Tower Building. It has traditional wood panelling and an impressive view down to the Tower Foyer.

The gallery is named after James Charles Lamb (1894-1962), a former student of University College Dundee and also a member of the University College Council from 1947 to 1951. His bequest in 1960 founded the University's Fine Art Fund. When he died shortly after the Tower Building opened, it was decided to name the exhibition gallery that had been created on the first floor mezzanine in his honour.

And So to Embroider: The Needlework Development Scheme 1934-1961 - An Exhibition by Museum Services

The current exhibition by Museum Services in the Lamb Gallery of the University's Tower Building showcases the work of the Needlework Development Scheme.

Run by Scotland's four art colleges between 1934 and 1961, the Needlework Development Scheme toured the world collecting examples of historic and contemporary embroidery designs as a national educational resource. Its aims were to encourage greater interest in embroidery and raise the standard of textile design. To mark 50 years since the Scheme came to an end, this exhibition features highlights from an extraordinary collection.

The Scheme originated with the Paisley-based thread manufacturers J & P Coats, who provided substantial funding (anonymously) and had a considerable influence over the selection of work. With mills in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Japan, Coats had international contacts that were invaluable to the Scheme.

During the 1930s the Scheme concentrated on modern European design, but the coming of war in 1939 put a stop to its operations. It had collected almost 900 pieces for use by the art colleges, schools, training colleges, women's institutes and other organisations across Scotland. When the Scheme was re-started after the war, it was extended to the rest of Britain, involving the Ministry of Education and the V&A Museum, and employing internationally acclaimed textile designers as expert advisers.

By the time the Scheme came to an end in 1961 it had collected over 5,000 items. These were distributed throughout the country - as well as the four art colleges, pieces were given to various institutions including the V&A, the Royal Scottish Museum, colleges of education and the Embroiderers' Guild. While most of the pieces shown in this exhibition are from the selection given to Duncan of Jordanstone College, we are also delighted to be able to include items on loan from the collections of the Glasgow School of Art and Gray's School of Art (Robert Gordon University).

You can see more of the collection on our NDS website. The exhibition is on display until 30 April 2011.

Matthew Jarron, Museum Curator

Travelling the World - An Exhibition by Museum Services

Santa Maria Maggiore by Ian Eadie, 1937

A new exhibition of artworks and artefacts from the collections held by Museum Services and depicting different countries and cultures from around the world is currently on display in the University's Tower Foyer Gallery. Most of the paintings and drawings used in the exhibition are by Scottish or English artists who travelled to new places for inspiration, experiencing changes of landscape, people and climate. Some are realistic depictions whilst others are intended to give impressions of a place or experience. Included are nineteenth century views of the Middle East by David Wilkie and David Roberts and Italian watercolours from the 1930s by art student Ian Eadie.

In the display cases are objects and works of decorative art which have come to the University from countries across the world, many presented by other higher education institutions. They symbolise the University's many international connections, past and present, including artefacts from China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Spain and Croatia.

The exhibition runs from 8 January - 26 February 2011 and admission is free. For more information please see the Museum Services website.