V&A Dundee

We want everyone to be able to enjoy our exhibitions. As part of our digital access programme, we produced an audio described tour of 'Mary Quant' to bring the show to life in a different way.

We recorded artist and describer Juliana Capes describing the exhibition to her friend Anne Dignan. Listen as they tour the exhibition together and describe the sights, sounds and memories it evokes.

Juliana Capes is a visual artist and educator who has worked in the field of visual description for 15 years. She is the lead artist on the National Gallery of Scotland Visual Impairment Programme and believes passionately in arts access for all.

Mary Quant disrupted the fashion establishment, connecting with an energised, youthful audience looking for something fresh and fun. From rising hemlines to androgynous shapes and styling, Quant captured the zeitgeist of the moment. 

In this episode V&A Dundee curator Meredith More, is joined by Heather Tilbury Phillips former co-director of Mary Quant Limited, together they discuss what it was like working with Quant.

The Mary Quant exhibition is on now until Sunday, 17 January 2021 at V&A Dundee.

This episode is a recording of  live-event Design as an Attitude with Alice Rawsthorn – a New Years Lecture which took place at V&A Dundee in January 2019.

In this talk Alice Rawsthorn explores how design is responding to complex social, political and environmental challenges. Investigating different aspects of contemporary design, from the deepening environmental/refugee crises and ominous new technologies, to reinventing dysfunctional social services.

Further resources and an episode transcript are available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/audio-design-as-an-attitude-with-alice-rawsthorn

Scottish Design Icons is a series of small articles showcasing the big hitters of Scottish design.

Scottish Design Icons is a series of small articles showcasing the big hitters of Scottish design.

In this talk project leader Dr Jen Ballie discusses Sewing Box for the Future, a pop-up exhibition which opened in February 2020 at V&A Dundee, that focuses on the urgent problem of fashion waste and what individuals can do about it.

As well as the activities in the museum, there is a set of Sewing Box for the Future recipe cards that are available to download so you can care, repair and customise at home from your own kitchen table. Follow the project on #FutureSewingBox.

Dr. Jen Ballie is Research Manager for ‘Design for Business’ at V&A Dundee. As a researcher, Jen initially began within the discipline of textile design but quickly became interdisciplinary drawing upon user experience, interaction and service design. Her current work focusses on fashion and the circular economy.

Further resources and an episode transcript are available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/what-is-sewing-box-for-the-future/

Scottish Design Icons is a series of small articles showcasing the big hitters of Scottish design. In this article, Claire Hartley explores Glaswegian and Arthurian legend through the work of illustrator Jessie M. King.

In this talk Yasmeen Lari discusses her humanitarian work building zero-carbon structures with communities in disaster prone areas of Pakistan in what she calls ‘anti-architecture’.

Yasmeen Lari was the first woman to qualify as an architect in Pakistan in 1963 after training in the UK at the Oxford School of Architecture. Before officially retiring from practice in 2000 she designed many of Pakistan’s landmark modern commercial buildings, however since becoming a UNESCO consultant in 2003 she has become renowned for her work with communities living in disaster prone areas of the country.

RIBA + VitrA Talks is sponsored by VitrA Bathrooms and generously supported by the L.K.E Ozolins fund.

Further resources and an episode transcript are available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/audio-riba-vitra-talk-yasmeen-lari

Scottish Design Icons is a series of small articles showcasing the big hitters of Scottish design. In this article, Maryam Deeni shares how a small detail she spotted in the museum had a huge impact on her and her sense of self.

Designer Dean Brown discusses his studio practice spanning objects, installations and interiors. He introduces his recent projects including an AI Drawing Easel for Google, a furniture collection for the fashion retail app Depop, a transformable kitchen for an Austrian castle and Sunglasses for Puffins created with the Interaction Research Studio.

Dean Brown studied Product Design at DJCAD, University of Dundee and is now based in London. He designs and makes objects, installations and interiors for a range of clients including Google, Uniqlo, Nike, Sèvres, Depop and Schloss Hollenegg for Design. His work has been exhibited internationally at the Milan Design Week, London Design Festival, the Aram Gallery and the V&A.

Content Warning: Animal Specimen (a Puffin, which died of natural causes) used as part of a research project is discussed in the audio. Images of this are shown within the presentation slides.

Further resources and an episode transcript are available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/audio-material-narratives-with-dean-brown