Latest News
Rare Chance to See One of Britain’s Greatest Landscape Artists on Display in Dundee
As part of the celebration of James Guthrie Orchar’s bicentenary, two treasures from Dundee’s fine art collection, including a beautiful watercolour by one of the greatest British landscape artists, Joseph Mallord William Turner have gone on display at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum.
Turner’s exquisite River Scene, Le Havre (c.1832) captures the sun setting over the port of Le Havre on the Seine, France. Created during his travels on the Continent, this work was later engraved for the hugely popular Christmas annual The Keepsake in 1834. Turner, known as “the painter of light”, transformed landscape painting through his ethereal use of colour and atmospheric effects. His Le Havre series directly inspired Monet’s Impression, Sunrise (1874), the painting that gave…
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The McManus launches a new digital guide to the museum
The free guide joins hundreds of cultural institutions around the world on the Bloomberg Connects app.
Today, The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum launched a new digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg Connects makes The McManus accessible anywhere with dynamic content offering insights into the museum’s permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions. At the heart of the guide is an audio tour of the museum, taking visitors on a journey to explore highlights from our stunning displays of art, history and the environment.
Anna Day of Library and Cultural Services at Leisure & Culture Dundee said
“We are delighted to be the latest Dundee attraction to launch on Bloomberg Connects. It…
The Macabre McManus
The Macabre McManus
It’s spooky season and to inspire your Halloween costumes here are some objects drawn from our creepy collections! Did you know that trick-or-treating was originally a Scottish and Irish tradition? Known as ‘guising’, children (and adults) would dress as ghouls so they could blend in with the spirits that roamed the earthly plane on All Hallows Eve, thus remaining undetected and unharmed…All of these items are on display so come and see just how Macabre the McManus can be!
Frankenstein: Frankenstein’s Dundee Comic (2019)Between 1812 and 1814 Mary Shelley, author of the classic novel ‘Frankenstein’, spent 14 months in Dundee with the family of William Thomas Baxter. First published in 1818, it was in a later edition of the book that Shelley…
Curtain Call: Costumes from Stage and Screen
The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum celebrates Dundee’s global influence in costume design
The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum is proud to present a spectacular new exhibition celebrating the artistry, imagination and global impact of costume designers with connections to Dundee.
Curtain Call: Costumes from Stage and Screen brings together a dazzling collection of costumes from film, television, theatre and opera, highlighting the extraordinary work of designers Jane Petrie, Ros Little, Alex Reid, and creatives who have collaborated with Dundee REP and Scottish Dance Theatre.
Running for nine months, the exhibition showcases Dundee's far-reaching influence in the world of costume design and celebrates the city's role as a birthplace and inspiration for…
McManus Connections Reaches Out!
McManus Connections Reaches Out!
What a lovely visit! Kids loved experimenting with all the crafts on offer. Great interacting with all the staff. Thank you all! (participant)
The Creative Learning Team are passionate about learning and using art and creativity to work with Dundee communities. Our team frequently sees the power of art to support improvements to health and wellbeing outcomes; to foster increased confidence; and to nurture strengthening of personal connections and relationships, within family groups, community and participant groups. McManus Connections aims to position The McManus as an open, positive and welcoming destination that narrates stories of Dundee’s rich heritage and history for a broader and more diverse range of…
Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards: Dundee
In partnership with Creative Scotland #VACMAScotland #VACMADundee
Autumn Deadline: 5pm, 21 October 2025
Winter Deadline: 5pm, 3 February 2026
In partnership with Creative Scotland, the Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards: Dundee has been established to support Dundee-based visual artists and craft practitioners in their creative and professional development.
The awards are intended to encourage artists to live and work in Dundee and to ensure that the arts play a vital and lasting role in the city.
The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards
There are two levels of bursaries offered by the VACMA scheme, you should apply for the one that best suits your situation.
£500 Early-Career Bursary: for artists and makers who have graduated within the…
New exhibition Highlights Scottish Artists who became Global Stars of Art History
Border Crossings: Ten Scottish Masters of Modern Art
The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum
Opens Saturday 28 June 2025. Runs until Sunday 14 June 2026
FREE
Ten pioneering modern Scottish artists are the subject of a new exhibition at The McManus, opening later this month.
The bold visions and international acclaim have placed them among the greats of global art history. These artists are Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Robert Colquhoun, William Crozier, Alan Davie, William Gear, William Johnstone, Robert MacBryde, Eduardo Paolozzi, William Scott and William Turnbull.
All ten made a unique contribution to the development of modern art worldwide. All ten left their home country to achieve success. All ten were immersed in international developments in art,…
International Museum Day 2025: The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities
International Museum Day 2025: The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities
To celebrate International Museum Day 2025, the museum's Creative Learning Team profile some of their recent community work. The team are passionate about creativity and self-expression, and the different ways that being creative can empower individuals and communities to tell their own stories and share their experiences. Responding to and re-interpreting our museum collections can give opportunities for new reflections on histories and the chance to include new perspectives that help shape our shared future.
Art Angel Community Collaborative projectWorking collaboratively with Art Angel, we offered a group of adults the opportunity to engage in a mixture of creative activities. The…
Four Brothers' Heroic WWII Medals on Display at The McManus in Dundee Ahead of VE Day
Ahead of the 80th Anniversary of VE Day, four Military Crosses from the same family have gone on display at The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum. The medals tell the extraordinary story of wartime heroics of four brothers.
The brothers from the Rae family survived some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War and returned to their hometown of Dundee with remarkable battlefield achievements and recognition for gallantry in the field. Indeed one brother, even received an additional bar on his military cross for his courageous actions.
Stanley, Ian, Douglas and Bruce Rae were the sons of Stephen and Agnes Rae of Encliffe, Albany Road, West Ferry. Their father was a partner in McIntyre & Rae, a well-known accountancy firm which he had founded in 1910 in…
New Art Exhibition Highlighting Ocean Sound Pollution Coming to The McManus
Starting at the end of May, a unique ceramic artwork called Sounding Line by Mella Shaw will go on display at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum.
The first UK institutional solo show from artist Mella Shaw is designed to raise awareness of how man-made underwater sound, like sonar, can harm whales. Sound pollution can deafen and confuse marine animals, making them come up to the surface too quickly and wash up on shore.
Mella was inspired to make this artwork after almost a 100 whales were found dead on beaches across Scotland and Ireland in 2018. This was largely unreported at the time.
Sounding Line includes large clay sculptures that were inspired by the tiny ear bones of whales. With permission from NatureScot, Mella made her own clay using whale bone.…
McManus and THAT Partnership Helps Participants with Long-Term Health Conditions
Drawing inspiration from the current exhibition, A Weather Eye at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum, the museum's Creative Learning Team has delivered the fifth partnership project with THAT (Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust).
The project was co-designed to provide person centred learning experiences and creative participation for people affected by long-term health conditions such as stroke, acquired brain injury, chronic pain and others.
In this eight-week block, Artists Laura Lyon and Nicola Wiltshire drew upon, A Weather Eye, to inspire participants to experiment with a wide range of fine art and mark making techniques, including working with collage, chalks, oil pastels, paints and combinations of these materials to explore texture within their work.
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