Host organisation: Fruitmarket
Project title: Archiving Engagement: addressing inconsistent archiving of gallery Engagement projects
Project description

We are seeking a PhD researcher to collaborate on an important archival project focused on addressing the significant gaps and inconsistencies in the documentation of Fruitmarket’s community engagement work.

Opened in 1974, Fruitmarket is a space for contemporary culture in central Edinburgh, with an archive that reflects our more-than fifty-year history. While we have been working hard in the last five years to make sense of our Exhibition history, our extensive work with local communities, schools, and teaching artists has not received the same level of attention – an oversight that reflects a broader absence in the sector. This material, relating to talks, workshops and long-term projects, ranges from images and print material to audio and video recordings and administrative material – much of which remains unidentified and uncatalogued.

This project asks a researcher to address this major lack in our archival practices, to delve into the archive material we hold and help map Engagement projects that have taken place at Fruitmarket since the gallery opened, working with the current Engagement team to explore the histories, legacies, and impacts of this work, helping surface and document projects that have shaped our relationships with diverse communities.

Writing up findings, and digitising images and recordings, the intern will devise ways in which to share this work with the public – via our website, social media or perhaps through an in-person event, working with the wider Fruitmarket team to realise these aims. Crucially, the intern will also assess current practices of archiving Engagement activity and suggest areas in which these practices can be made more robust going forward. The research will aim to establish a framework for archiving socially engaged practices, enabling reflection, learning, and inspiration for future artists, educators, and researchers.

Fruitmarket aims to reach people who have been underrepresented in audiences, in our team and in the sector and have prioritised increasing representation of disabled people, people who are black or from POC communities. Fruitmarket welcomes all people no matter their age, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, class, cultural background, disability, marital status, pregnancy or maternity status.

Outputs
  • Map a timeline of key Engagement projects and activities since Fruitmarket opened.
  • Begin to identify and catalogue materials relating to these projects, using Fruitmarket’s existing cataloguing systems.
  • Digitise materials as appropriate.
  • Put digitised materials on the Fruitmarket website and social media platforms, alongside descriptions of Engagement projects.
  • Work with Fruitmarket’s Research and Public Engagement Curator to put in place a plan for future archiving of the Engagement programme, to ensure better practice going forward.

We recognise that this is an ambitious project, and do not expect the intern to catalogue and digitise the whole of our Engagement archive. Rather, we hope that the intern will allow us to develop innovative methodologies for approaching this, at present, unknown and undeveloped part of our archive, and begin to map and understand its contents. Throughout the internship, the researcher will work closely with our Research and Public Engagement Curator to prioritise areas of enquiry based upon the materials available, the expertise of the intern and the interests and concerns of the current Engagement team.

Location
The intern will be based in the Fruitmarket library and archive but will also visit other libraries and archives across Edinburgh as necessary – these might include the Demarco Archive, the National Galleries of Scotland archive, and the National Library of Scotland. Some remote working days can be arranged as necessary.
Benefits to the researcher
  • The intern will benefit from a rich and timely area of inquiry, conducting work that will help address a wider cultural need for recognising and preserving the value of community-based artistic practice.
  • They will gain invaluable research experience in a gallery context, based within one of Scotland’s leading contemporary art institutions.
  • They will gain access to Fruitmarket’s rich archive and library, comprising physical and digital material spanning 50 years and over 300 exhibitions of Scottish and international contemporary art.
  • The researcher will be supported by Dr Ruth Bretherick, Fruitmarket’s Research and Public Engagement Curator. As a former PhD researcher and now curator of Fruitmarket’s public events, interpretation, archive, and academic partnerships, Ruth is skilled in guiding artists and students towards the successful realisation of their research ideas.
  • If they wish, the selected intern will have the opportunity to engage with the public on the research project (via social media, blog posts or an event), building important communication and public engagement skills.
  • They will be supported by Fruitmarket to access other archives across Edinburgh and to build their networks with other academics, researchers, archivists and curators.
Key relationships

At Fruitmarket, the intern will work closely with the Engagement team (Research and Public Engagement Curator, Creative Learning Manager and Community Engagement Manager) to guide them through the archive and to help prioritise areas of enquiry. The intern is also likely to be in touch with past staff members at Fruitmarket, especially those who previously worked in Learning and Engagement. They will also engage with staff at other libraries and archives in Edinburgh where relevant.

The intern will work with our AV Technician and Marketing team (Communications Manager and Marketing Assistant) to digitise and share their findings with our audiences (187k reached in-person each year, with a digital reach of 98k via the Fruitmarket website). Fruitmarket has a diverse and young audience – 42% are under 40 and 26% are under 30 – as well as older local and loyal visitors, many of whom may have taken part in the Engagement projects that are the focus of this internship.

Timescale

Start date (or must start by): January 2026

End date (or must end by): December 2026

Work structure: We are happy to discuss the exact structure of the placement at interview / once the intern starts, but would prefer archive-based days to be on a Monday.

Subject areas

This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:

Visual Arts; Curating; Museum and Gallery Studies; Museum Policy & Management; Art History; Policy, Arts Management and Creative Industries; Archives; Information and Knowledge Management; Library Studies; Cultural History.

Person specification

A1. Knowledge Base
  • Essential: Subject Knowledge; Information seeking. 
  • Desirable: Research methods – theoretical knowledge; Research methods – Practical application; Information literacy and management; Academic literacy and numeracy.
A2. Cognitive Abilities
  • Essential: Synthesising.
  • Desirable: Analysing; Critical thinking; Evaluating; Problem Solving.
A3. Creativity
  • Essential: Inquiring minds; Intellectual insight; Innovation.
B1. Personal qualities
  • Essential: Enthusiasm; Perseverance; Integrity.
  • Desirable: Responsibility.
B2. Self management
  • Essential: Preparation and prioritisation; Commitment to research; Time management.
B3. Professional & career development
  • Desirable: Responsiveness to opportunities.
C1. Professional conduct
  • Essential: Health and Safety; Ethics, principles and sustainability; Appropriate practice; Respect and confidentiality.
C2. Research management
  • Desirable: Research Strategy; Project planning and delivery.
D1. Working with others
  • Essential: Collegiality; Equality and diversity.
D2. Communication & dissemination
  • Essential: Communication methods; Communication media.
D3. Engagement & impact
  • Desirable: Public engagement.

First published: 9 October 2025

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