Collecting, Conserving and Displaying Photography at National Galleries Scotland 

This project investigates the representation of photographers and subjects from marginalised backgrounds within the National Galleries Scotland (NGS) photographic archive, aiming to develop knowledge surrounding the stories of diverse communities within this collection, with an emphasis on the lives of women and non-binary people. A primary focus is to uncover photographic stories that deal with diverse issues such as ethnicity and race, women’s lives, the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, conditions for migrants and the working classes, and examining how these narratives, hitherto obscured within the archive, speak to a need for social change. This will include assessing the way in which the present state of the NGS photography collection may uphold Coloniality and patriarchal power structures, using an epistemological lens to understand the archive as a site which both represents and constructs knowledge.

This research will also evaluate current curatorial, cataloguing, display, conservation and engagement practices in the context of the sector’s equality, diversity and inclusion goals, with a view to establishing innovative approaches in these areas. Barriers to entering the archive for living artists of marginalised identities will also be identified. The knowledge gained will inform the development of inclusive collection policy for photographic archives in Scotland, with the potential to be applied to other institutions across the UK.

Alexandra Gow’s research is supervised by: Professor Anna Fox (Professor of Photography, UCA Farnham); Professor Jean Wainwright (Director of The Fine Art and Photography Research Centre, UCA).

This research has been made possible with the assistance of the University for the Creative Arts Vice Chancellor PhD Studentship in Photography.