Host organisation: The Alasdair Gray Archive
Project title: Archival Immersion: A Self-Directed Project at The Alasdair Gray Archive
Project description

About the Alasdair Gray Archive (AGA):

Established in March 2020 following Alasdair Gray’s passing in December 2019, the Alasdair Gray Archive celebrates and deepens understanding of one of Scotland’s most influential cultural figures of the 20th century. Through his legacy, we aim to inspire and support others working in the creative sector.

A key part of our mission is to promote educational opportunities linked to Gray’s work. We regularly host student placements and are passionate about collaboration, creativity, and growing our Gray community.

We’re here to help you shape and deliver your own self-directed research project. This could take many forms, including:

  • A creative response to the collection
  • Hosting an event
  • Leading a workshop (online or in-person)
  • Creating a podcast or digital content
  • Designing a walking tour
  • Developing new resources or evaluation methods
  • Exploring and sharing Gray’s work in new and innovative ways

Prior knowledge of Alasdair Gray’s work is welcome but not essential—just bring curiosity, creativity, and a collaborative spirit!

Outputs

Flexible project outcomes, shaped from the suggested ideas in the project brief:

  • Clearly defined research aims and objectives
  • Creation of original content or interpretation
  • Consideration of accessibility—both physical and digital
  • Aligned with The Alasdair Gray Archive’s strategic goals (see our Organisational Strategy online for more details)
Location
Flexible - ideally in person but remote/hybrid considered.
Benefits to the researcher
  • Collaborative working and building professional networks
  • Developing skills in interviewing and collecting oral testimonies
  • Gaining experience in accessing and handling original materials
  • First-hand insight into collection care and archive management
  • Contributing to original research and knowledge production
  • Participating in a public-facing project with tangible outcomes
  • Considering delivery methods and measuring impact
  • Engaging with audience development strategies
  • Promoting work through PR, social media, and other platforms
  • Peer-to-peer learning and collaboration
  • Facilitating knowledge exchange across disciplines
Key relationships

Core team at AGA and our partners across the academic, creative and public sectors.
Other placement students, our 2 x Collaborative Doctoral Award students.

Timescale

Flexible

Subject areas

This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:

Philosophy, Thought and Religion; Languages and Linguistics; Architecture; Creative Writing; Dance; Design; Drama & Theatre Studies; Music; Visual Arts; Curating; Museum and Gallery Studies; Museum Policy & Management; Cultural Geography; Heritage Management; Conservation of Art and Textiles; Art History; Gender and Sexuality; Cultural Studies and Pop Culture; Policy, Arts Management and Creative Industries; Information and Knowledge Management; Archives; Records Management; Library Studies; Computational Studies; Information Science and Retrieval; Information and Knowledge Management; Cultural History; Political History; Imperial/Colonial History; Economic and Social History; Post-Colonial Studies; Scottish Studies; History of English Languages; Journalism; Publishing; Television History, Theory and Criticism; New Media/Web-Based Studies; Film History, Theory and Criticism; Interpreting and Translation; English Language; Comparative Literature; Philosophy of Mind; Aesthetics; History of Ideas; Ethics; History of Philosophy; English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh Literature; Colonial and Post-Colonial Studies; Lifewriting; Science and Fantasy Writing; Poetry; Literary and Cultural Theory. 

Person specification

A1. Knowledge Base
  • Essential: Research methods – theoretical knowledge; Research methods – Practical application; Information seeking; Information literacy and management.
  • Desirable: Subject Knowledge; Languages; Academic literacy and numeracy.
A2. Cognitive Abilities
  • Essential: Critical thinking; Problem Solving.
  • Desirable: Analysing; Synthesising; Evaluating.
A3. Creativity
  • Essential: Inquiring minds; Intellectual insight; Innovation
  • Desirable: Argument construction; Intellectual risk.
B1. Personal qualities
  • Essential: Enthusiasm; Perseverance; Integrity; Self-reflection; Responsibility.
  • Desirable: Self-confidence
B2. Self management
  • Essential: Preparation and prioritisation; Commitment to research; Time management; Responsiveness to change; Work-life balance.
B3. Professional & career development
  • Essential: Continuing professional development; Responsiveness to opportunities.
  • Desirable: Career management; Networking; Reputation and esteem.
C1. Professional conduct
  • Essential: Respect and confidentiality; Appropriate practice.
  • Desirable: Health and Safety; Ethics, principles and sustainability; Legal requirements; IPR and copyright; Attribution and co-authorship.
C2. Research management
  • Essential: Research Strategy; Project planning and delivery.
  • Desirable: Risk management.
C3. Finance, funding & resources
  • Desirable: Income and funding generation; Financial management; Infrastructure and resources.
D1. Working with others
  • Essential: Collegiality; Team working; Collaboration; Equality and diversity.
  • Desirable: People management; Supervision; Mentoring; Influence and leadership.
D2. Communication & dissemination
  • Essential: Communication methods.
  • Desirable: Communication media; Publication
D3. Engagement & impact
  • Desirable: Teaching; Public engagement; Enterprise; Policy; Society and culture; Global citizenship.

First published: 9 October 2025

<< Internships and Artist Residencies 2026