Relocation – the School on the move

A new exhibition is on display this week to showcase work done by MA Arts Management and Heritage Studies students, looking at the heritage of the building soon to become the new home for the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies.

Situated on University Road, the early twentieth-century building is currently under renovation before the School moves into it in the summer of 2016. Designed by architect Paul Waterhouse in 1915, it was originally built for the Department of Agriculture, after which it hosted the School of Geography from 1993 until it moved across campus earlier this year.

Students have been researching the building’s past and present via site visits and using archive resources in Special Collections. Their Relocation project has entailed the creation of a series of blog posts exploring different aspects of the building, from its interesting architecture and history to its location next to Saint George’s Field. These articles will be posted over the coming months on the website of the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage.

A small Relocation exhibition in the foyer of the Old Mining Building (the current home of the School) will allow staff and students to find out more about the heritage project.

Dr Helen Graham, MA Programme Director, said:

‘The MA in Arts Management and Heritage Studies is a new endeavour within the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies. Run in Partnership with the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, the MA aims to link theoretical perspectives on arts and heritage with questions of practice and management.

‘We’ve been thrilled to see the first cohort of students grasping the potential of their interpretative project focused on the history of the building which will be the School’s new home from mid-2016. The work they’ve done very effectively indicates that the way we design and develop our buildings on campus tell us much about the University of Leeds and its aspirations, both then and now.’

MA Arts Management and Heritage Studies student Helena Roddis said:

‘As a group of students, we have really enjoyed being invited into the building because it has been interesting to see it in the development process, as it evolves from one department to another. It’s nice that the company undertaking the renovation work, Sewell, have shared our enthusiasm about the heritage of the building and its importance to the campus.’

The exhibition will be on view from Thursday 3 to Monday 7 December 2015 in the Old Mining Building, Woodhouse Lane. More about the project, including the students’ blog posts, can be seen here on the Centre website.