You may have seen the latest Campus Curiosities, which is all about Redmarley (the Research and Cultural Collections Study Centre). We have been the happy residents of Redmarley for five years. The stored collections and offices were moved to this attractive 1930s building in 2011 in order to make artefacts more accessible for teaching and research. We’ve decided to share some of our favourite memories and explain what working here has meant to us.
Nadia, Interpretation and Access Manager
“For me, Redmarley represents a key period of my career. In 2011 I project managed the collections and office move all to be done in a somewhat daunting two and a half months! We have all been happy to call Redmarley our ‘work home’ ever since.”
“One of my favourite memories is the Focus on Curating project. Having managed it from day one and trained a handful of student volunteers, it was fantastic to see how far they had come and watch them design and lead a workshop. The engagement of the year 10 pupils in that session embodies the reason I work in museums!”
“And I admire the pride we all take in our Birthday Cake Days!’
Clare, Collections Manager
“Redmarley is a lovely place to work. When I was a student I used to walk past the building (which was then Japan House); I always wondered what went on inside. About thirteen years later I now work here!”
“One of my funniest memories is of trying to make Ancestor I, a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, ‘take its own selfie’! Using a DSLR camera to take a photo of a phone mounted on a selfie stick held by a colleague hiding behind a sculpture is not something I had done before. The priceless look from passers-by of ‘that’s not how you use a selfie stick’ is certainly one of the highlights for me!”
“A personal highlight happened early one morning. I looked out of our office window which overlooks the garden and I saw one of the peregrines which nest on the Clock Tower. It had caught a pigeon and was closely guarding it’s breakfast whilst I watched!”
Anna, Assistant Curator
“We’ve now had five years of classes passing through Redmarley – undergrad, postgrad, special interest and school groups – and each time a new group comes, it makes you appreciate what a special place we work in and allows you to see both the building and the collections from a new perspective. A recent researcher interested in African modern art has raised the importance of the paintings in the Danford Collection… we’ve discovered the importance and rarity of works by such artists as Ben Enwonwu and the links to other parts of the collection.”
“Redmarley is a beautiful place to work, whatever the season!”
Clare, University Curator
"I love that Redmarley offers a true centre for the dispersed collections. The building is home to artefacts from all of our research and cultural collections, covering disciplines as wide ranging as the history of medicine to contemporary fine art. It has reenergised the way that we work with objects, providing a home for students and academics from any discipline to access what we have and learn from our material culture."
Do you have fond memories of Redmarley? Whether it’s about a trip you made to our Study Centre or before we moved in: we’d love to hear them! Please email [email protected].
