Kelvin Hall as a state of the art facility for research, teaching and learning, and public engagement

Subscribers may be interested in knowing about a major initiative in Glasgow. The redevelopment of Kelvin Hall (KH) offers the University (UoG) and City of Glasgow the opportunity to create an integrated, state of the art facility for research, teaching and learning, and public engagement in the area of historic collections and the visual arts.

Building on a successful bid by UoG and the city to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in 2013 for £4.85m, the planned Phase 1 development of Kelvin Hall will bring together under one roof The Hunterian’s internationally important study collections of 1.3 m objects and spacimens – currently dispersed over 8 sites. This will provide the opportunity to utilise academic and curatorial expertise within a new study centre that is fit for purpose and which transforms the Hunterian’s capacity and ability to engage fully with Glasgow 2020: A Global Vision in research, teaching and learning and the student experience. The co-location of the Scottish Screen Archive (SSA) of the National Libraries of Scotland, the related collections of Glasgow Life and leisure space will complement many of UoG’s research and teaching themes in a truly interdisciplinary way and provide a platform for future public engagement and knowledge exchange.

Within Kelvin Hall Phase 1, The Hunterian is planning to establish a Collections Study Centre, which will enhance delivery of UoG’s curatorial Post-graduate Training (PGT/Masters) programmes, and provide in-service training and CPD offer in a new Academy for Cultural Heritage Skills business venture. It is the ideal context in which to engage with the work of the Centre for Open Studies (life-long learning) by significantly expanding its curriculum offer through improved access to collections and the availability of dedicated museum teaching space, and also launch a new programme of Hunterian Summer Schools across the range of collections and academic activity. The Centre will also attract visiting research staff and exchange students from around the UK and overseas.

Consideration is also currently being given by the partners for a second phase of development, which builds and achieves connectivity to the Phase 1 facilities. Kelvin Hall Phase 2 would involve removing all of the Hunterian’s displays from the Gilmorehill campus to create a NEW HUNTERIAN Museum at Kelvin Hall, and potentially co-located with the University’s Special Collections and Archives,  which will secure long-desired public visibility and access to the totality of UoG’s historic assets. The collaboration of University, City and potentially other partners in Kelvin Hall Phase 2 would create one of the leading centres for the visual and historic culture in the UK, if not globally. 

Featured below and attached is more information about the development as well as some information about Leverhulme Foundation Doctoral Awards that will be linked to this development at Kelvin Hall.