COLLECTING HER THOUGHTS
For the next in our series of guest blogs, Collections Manager Nicola Wilson reflects on starting her dream job at the Stirling Smith in the midst of a pandemic:
I started my dream role as Collections Manager at The Stirling Smith on the day we went into lockdown. I must admit my dream felt a little crushed at first. I had envisioned myself working in this beautiful building for years, so being told to stay at home was not the new start I’d imagined. The Smith is very special to me, it’s my local museum and it’s where some of my earliest museum memories were made. I’m sure I even have some old pictures of my wee brother dressed up as Wallace in one of the galleries from around 20 years ago!
I truly love museums, they are my greatest passion. When I’m not working, I like nothing more than wandering through galleries and treating myself to freshly baked scones in museum cafes on a Sunday afternoon. Lockdown has been the longest time in my living memory that I’ve not visited a museum or gallery. Just as some people have created lists of all the restaurants they want to visit, I’ve created a list of all the exhibitions I’d like to visit when museums begin to reopen. I’m a huge fan of vintage fashion, so the Mary Quant exhibition at the V&A Dundee is a must see for me over the next couple of months.
Although I’ve not had physical access to the Smith’s collection over the last few months, I’ve been familiarising myself with it through our digital catalogue whilst working from home. As with most museums, we can only put a small percentage of our collection out on display, so it’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to delve into our documents and learn about all of the objects in storage that I wasn’t aware of before.
The Smith is home to over 40,000 objects, which tell the history, not only of Stirling, but also of Scotland as a nation. Stirling is often described as the anvil on which Scotland’s history was hammered. Six battles which changed the course of Scottish history took place in and around the Stirling area and the city has been of strategic importance to the rest of Scotland for two thousand years. Our collections truly reflects these bold statements. From the world’s oldest football and curling stone to the largest collection of British Petwer, our collections are not only that of local pride but also of international signifignance.
My role within The Smith is to care for and manage our varied collections, which range from small archeological artefacts to large paintings of Highland Cows. The collection is full of wonderful treasures, I’m constantly surprised to discover what has been collected and generously donated over the years.
My most recent discovery has been an art nouveau style embroidery panel by the Scottish suffragette Marion Wallace Dunlop. For me, everyday is a school day, I’m constantly learning from the collections I work with. Before discovering the embroidery piece, I had heard of the name Marion Wallace Dunlop and I was aware she was a suffragette, however I had no idea she was an artist and wasn’t aware that she was the first suffragette to go on a hunger strike. This object which, at first glance, was a beautiful art nouveau embroidery has now been transformed into an extremly powerful and emotional object to me. Learning, sharing, and preserving these stories and objects is what it’s all about for me, and it’s why I love museums and my job so much.
During lockdown I’ve been sharing some of my favourite highlights and collection discoveries via social media, and the team at the Smith have also been busy engaging with our collection in new and innovative ways. One of the more unusual outcomes of lockdown has been recreating some of our artwork for the video game Animal Crossing, you can now download the famous Stirling Wolf to use in the game via our website! We are all looking forward to welcoming our visitors back when we reopen in August and I’m very much looking forward to exploring the collection and finally seeing Marion Wallace Dunlop’s embroidery in person.
Nicola Wilson has spent over a decade working in museums across Central Scotland. Prior to her role at The Smith she worked in collections management and curatorial positions with Falkirk Community Trust, Fife Cultural Trust and Renfrewshire Leisure.