Scottish Artists Archives Network
Published: 28 September 2026
Archiving Sam Ainsley: Mapping an Artist, Educator and Critical Period in Glasgow’s Cultural History with The Scottish Artists Archive Network
Host organisation: Scottish Artists Archives Network
Project title: Archiving Sam Ainsley: Mapping an Artist, Educator and Critical Period in Glasgow’s Cultural History with The Scottish Artists Archive Network
Project description
This internship offers a doctoral researcher the opportunity to work with the Scottish Artists Archive Network (SAAN) and the archive of the artist, educator and former Head of the Master of Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art, Sam Ainsley. The project will support the reorganisation, documentation and initial digitisation of Ainsley’s extensive archival materials, while beginning to establish a framework through which this important collection can be accessed and understood by future researchers.
Sam Ainsley is a significant figure in the development of contemporary art in Scotland. As an artist, teacher and course leader, she occupied a distinctive position within the cultural ecology of Glasgow during a period of extraordinary artistic development. Her work and professional relationships intersect with a generation of artists who went on to establish major international careers, receiving Turner Prizes and significant support from international galleries, museums and cultural institutions. This period is frequently described as the “Glasgow Miracle”: a moment in which Glasgow developed an influential contemporary art community and produced artists whose practices reshaped the international art landscape. Ainsley’s archive offers an important opportunity to understand this history from the perspective of an artist and educator who was deeply embedded within it.
The collection is particularly valuable because it brings together different aspects of Ainsley’s professional life. The project will focus on organising three interconnected strands of material:
- Materials relating to Sam Ainsley’s own artistic practice, including documentation and supporting material relating to her career and work.
- Materials relating to her collaborative project with Sandy Moffat and David Harding, documenting an important strand of collaborative and interdisciplinary practice.
- Materials relating to Ainsley’s time as Course Leader of the MFA at Glasgow School of Art, providing insight into an influential period of postgraduate art education and the development of a generation of artists.
Together, these materials have the potential to illuminate not only Ainsley’s individual career but wider networks of artistic, educational and institutional activity in Glasgow and Scotland. The project will be overseen by the Scottish Artists Archive Network (SAAN), a collaborative network concerned with the preservation, organisation and activation of artists’ archives. SAAN is coordinated by Sorcha Dallas of The Alasdair Gray Archive and The Agnes Owens Archive, alongside Tilly Heydon, Archivist at the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. The project will therefore place the researcher within an established network of expertise in artists’ archives and archival practice. Working in consultation with Ainsley and under the guidance of SAAN, the researcher will assist in reorganising the existing materials into the three principal strands, establish a chronological structure where appropriate, and begin creating a systematic Excel-based listing of the collection using an existing system developed by SAAN in consultation with Ainsley.
The internship will combine practical archival work with research and interpretation. The researcher will work through the materials, identifying, organising and cataloguing items and, where appropriate, scanning selected material. This will begin to establish a digital listing of the collection and create a foundation for future digitisation, research and public access. The researcher will also contribute to a webinar run by SAAN on Ainsley’s archive that will share wider learning to our growing network. The project therefore offers an unusual combination of hands-on archival experience, research into Scottish contemporary art, and direct engagement with the history of art education in Glasgow and sector engagement. Rather than treating the archive simply as a historical repository, the project will begin to activate it as a resource through which the history of Glasgow’s contemporary art community can be revisited, questioned and better understood.
The Scottish Artists Archive Network (SAAN) https://www.scottishartistsarchivesnetwork.org is a collaborative network supporting the care, organisation and activation of artists’ archives across Scotland. Coordinated by Sorcha Dallas, of The Alasdair Gray Archive and The Agnes Owens Archive, and Tilly Heydon, Archivist at the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, SAAN brings specialist expertise in cataloguing, interpretation and making archival collections accessible for research and public engagement. For the Sam Ainsley project, SAAN will provide archival oversight and support the researcher in developing a coherent catalogue and digital listing of the collection. The project will help preserve and activate the archive of Sam Ainsley, an influential Scottish artist and educator, whose career spans a critical period in Glasgow’s cultural development. Her archive offers valuable insight into artistic practice, collaboration and art education during the period associated with the “Glasgow Miracle”, when a generation of Glasgow-based artists gained significant international recognition.
The internship will combine practical archival work—organising, cataloguing and beginning to digitise Ainsley’s materials—with opportunities for original research. It will create a structured, discoverable resource for future researchers while helping to reveal new connections and perspectives on Ainsley’s work, the MFA at Glasgow School of Art and the wider history of contemporary art in Glasgow.
Outputs
The internship will result in a series of practical and research-based outputs. These will include:
- A reorganised physical archive structured around the three principal strands of Ainsley’s work.
- A chronological arrangement of materials where appropriate.
- A structured Excel catalogue based on the existing SAAN system with images.
- A preliminary digital listing of the collection.
- A body of selected scanned and digitally documented materials.
- Identification of significant themes, relationships and areas for future research.
- A short research report documenting the process, findings and recommendations for the future development of the archive.
- Recommendations for further cataloguing, digitisation, conservation and public access.
- A foundation from which future exhibitions, publications, academic research, oral-history projects or digital interpretation could develop.
- Online webinar involvement on shared findings from this research project.
The intention is that the work undertaken during the internship will have a life beyond the placement, providing practical infrastructure that can be built upon by SAAN, Ainsley and future researchers.
In person/remote/hybrid
Hybrid, with a strong preference for in-person engagement.
The archival nature of the project means that substantial in-person work will be essential. The researcher will need to work directly with the physical materials in order to assess, organise, catalogue and scan the collection.
In-person engagement will also enable regular meetings with SAAN and Sam Ainsley, allowing the researcher to develop a detailed understanding of the context and significance of the material.
Some elements of catalogue development, research, writing and digital organisation may subsequently be undertaken remotely.
Benefits to the researcher
The internship will provide a doctoral researcher with substantial practical and intellectual experience of working with an artist’s archive and with an established network of Scottish archival organisations. The researcher will have opportunities to:
- Gain hands-on experience of organising and cataloguing an artist’s archive.
- Develop practical skills in archival assessment, arrangement and documentation.
- Work directly with original archival materials.
- Develop experience of digital documentation and scanning.
- Learn and apply an established archival listing methodology.
- Explore the relationship between artists’ archives and art-historical research.
- Develop knowledge of Scottish contemporary art and the cultural history of Glasgow.
- Engage with the history of postgraduate art education and the development of the MFA at Glasgow School of Art.
- Develop an understanding of the networks surrounding the so-called Glasgow Miracle.
- Work alongside experienced archivists and organisations working with artists’ archives.
- Develop professional networks across the academic, archival and contemporary art sectors.
- Gain experience of translating archival organisation into future research and public-access opportunities.
The internship will be particularly valuable to a researcher interested in contemporary art, Scottish cultural history, artists’ archives, art education, institutional histories, curatorial practice or archival methodologies.
Key relationships
The project will be overseen by the Scottish Artists Archive Network (SAAN).
SAAN is a network bringing together expertise in the care, organisation, interpretation and activation of artists’ archives. The project will be supported by Sorcha Dallas, of The Alasdair Gray Archive and The Agnes Owens Archive, and Tilly Heydon, Archivist at the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. The researcher will also work in consultation with Sam Ainsley, whose knowledge of the materials and their context will be essential to the process of identification, organisation and interpretation. The project therefore brings together three forms of expertise:
- Ainsley’s first-hand knowledge of her artistic, collaborative and educational work.
- SAAN’s professional experience of artists’ archives and archival organisation.
- The researcher’s academic expertise, research methodology and capacity to identify new questions and connections within the materials.
This collaborative structure is central to the project and will ensure that the archive is organised in a way that is both practically useful and sensitive to its historical and personal context.
Subject areas
This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:
Visual Arts; Curating; Museum and Gallery Studies; Art History; Cultural Studies and Pop Culture; Archives; Cultural History.
Person specification
A1. Knowledge Base
- Essential: Research methods – theoretical knowledge; Information Seeking; Academic literacy and numeracy.
- Desirable: Subject knowledge; Research methods – Practical application; Information literacy and management.
A2. Cognitive Abilities
- Essential: Critical thinking; Evaluating; Analysing; Synthesising; Problem Solving.
A3. Creativity
- Essential: Inquiring minds; Intellectual insight; Innovation.
B1. Personal qualities
- Essential: Enthusiasm; Integrity; Responsibility; Perseverance; Self-confidence; Self-reflection.
B2. Self management
- Essential: Preparation and prioritisation; Commitment to research; Time management; Responsiveness to change; Work-life balance.
B3. Professional & career development
- Essential: Responsiveness to opportunities.
- Desirable: Continuing professional development; Networking.
C1. Professional conduct
- Essential: Respect and confidentiality; Attribution and co-authorship; Appropriate practice.
- Desirable: IPR and copyright.
C2. Research management
- Essential: Research Strategy; Project planning and delivery.
- Desirable: Risk management.
C3. Finance, funding & resources
- Desirable: Infrastructure and resources.
D1. Working with others
- Essential: Collegiality; Team working; Collaboration; Equality and diversity.
D2. Communication & dissemination
- Desirable: Communication methods; Communication media.
D3. Engagement & impact
- Essential: Public Engagement.
First published: 28 September 2026