Support us
Join us in protecting the past, provoking curiosity in the present and exploring hope for the future.
Every gift you buy in the shop, every event you hold in the museums and every donation of time or money you make, helps us to protect and care for our collection, create compelling exhibitions, provide access to events and rethink how museums might benefit society in the future.
Support our world-leading exhibitions programme
The exhibitions programme is the engine of the Wardlaw Museum, exploring cutting-edge research, displaying stunning art and artefacts, impacting society through research and influencing behavioural change.
The costs of producing high-quality exhibitions are constantly increasing. Your support can help us provoke curiosity amongst our visitors.
Please contact us if you would like to give a one-off donation to a particular exhibition or provide more regular support for the annual programme of changing exhibitions.
Upcoming exhibitions
- Say No: Art, Activism and Feminist Refusal uses contemporary art to examine a range of issues faced by women and how refusal can be and has been an act of protest. The exhibition runs until spring 2025.
- Summer 2025 will see a range of approaches to exploring a sustainable future, from bio-architecture and new ways of considering asylum to greenwashing, advertising, disability and the meaning of home, opening bigger questions around who sets the agenda, who makes the decisions, who burdens the cost and who reaps the benefits.
- Autumn and winter 2025 celebrates the Boswell Collection by using modern Scottish art to examine issues of Scottish identity.
- A major exhibition in 2026 explores Mary Queen of Scots, comparing her experiences to those of other women at the time and uncovering how the period of her life resonates with today.
Safeguard existing collections and enable the acquisition of new ones
University Collections and Museums aim to establish an endowment fund to enable us to grow the collection and to make new acquisitions digitally accessible. Strategic priorities include diversifying the collections to ensure a relevant collection that is reflective of our audiences today.
There is also a need for collections review, assessment and cataloguing to ensure the preservation and stewardship of our internationally important collections. By undertaking this vital work, we can ensure our collections can be easily discovered and accessed. Priority areas include Geology and Historic Scientific Instruments.
Reinvigorate the Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History
The Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History is a much-loved attraction for students, St Andrews residents and tourists, but the museum has not had any significant upgrades since the 1970s.
The University Museums aim to update and reinvigorate the Bell Pettigrew Museum, maintaining its unique character while making it more accessible and relevant to audiences. Using research taking place at the University, the objective is to explore stories of biodiversity, species loss, and the cultural and scientific importance of the specimens on display, activating the collections to encourage behavioural change and the building of a more sustainable future.
Work will also take place to protect the specimens in the collection, many of which require specialist conservation. This includes essential fluid preservation, ensuring that specimens in the collection, many of which are endangered or extinct species, are safeguarded into the future.
Enable new generations of young people to benefit from the collections
The University Museums’ schools programmes are carefully targeted to support University strategic goals, by engaging diverse groups of young people with research while developing their skills.
The flagship Common Ground programme seeks to unite secondary school pupils from backgrounds that are underrepresented at university with refugees and migrants. Participants unite around an area of research which supports a creative exploration of what it means to them, resulting in a public output, usually in the form of an exhibition or display. The programme develops ambition for university study, the skills and confidence required for that study and ability in the English language. It also seeks to support the University’s Sanctuary Status by building understanding of migrant experience and intercultural dialogue.
Kickstart a career through traineeships and graduate skills development
Traineeships enable St Andrews students to gain the skills and experience necessary for a career in libraries or museums.
£30,000 can support a graduate trainee full-time for one year, including an allocation for travel and training.
£8000 can allow a current student to take on a part-time traineeship, including training and one-to-one mentorship, alongside their studies.
Funding is sought in particular to support students and graduates who are underrepresented in the libraries and museums sector.
