Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland, Caring for the Collection is a project that will focus on Art in Healthcare’s vast art collection, enabling us to undertake a programme of maintenance and conservation of artworks currently in our art store.
We are delighted to have the support to recruit two technical roles, who will be dedicated to working with collection artworks and improving how they are stored safely. In November, we appointed Giulia Gentili, our Technician, who brings several years of experience working with a wide range of artists and organisations as an art technician, fabricator and artist.
Followed by the recruitment of our Collection Technician Apprentice, Mina Brennan, who will work closely alongside Giulia. Together, they will review, maintain and restore artworks, with the aim of placing them in hospitals, care homes and community spaces across Scotland. In addition to gaining hands on experience working with the collection, Mina will gain a Museum and Galleries Technician Modern Apprenticeship [SCQF level 7] qualification.
As part of this project, and to celebrate Art in Healthcare’s 35th Anniversary, Mina has launched a blog exploring 35 works from the Art in Healthcare Collection and her findings from her apprenticeship.
Image: ‘The Big Man and the Flattened Female’ by Sam Ainsley placed down on packing blankets and a layer of Tyvek.
Welcome to the Eleventh blog post from the Collection Technicians.
This week in the store we took a look at this large textile piece by Sam Ainsley titled ‘The Big Man and the Flattened Female’. We needed to take it out of storage so we could complete a condition report. The first step was to place down packing blankets and then a layer of Tyvek, a breathable material and a great way to protect pieces whilst also allowing good airflow, this was the first layer of the textiles packaging. The piece was then laid out on top and given a quick dust and a slight clean, so it was ready to be rolled up again.
Images: ‘The Big Man and the Flattened Female’ by Sam Ainsley being dusted and cleaned by Mina.
Sam Ainsley has exhibited with the RSA and recently held a solo exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. Her work focuses on figurative imagery as well as natural forms such as mountains and plants. This large textile shows two figures, one on the right with a map painted in its silhouette and one on the left in red. The textile was made whilst she was in Illinois, the figure on the right representing America and the figure on the left representing herself. Some of Ainsley’s recent work at the RSA Academicians Gallery shows natural forms painted onto a circular canvas, these small works sit alongside each other and almost look like portholes or windows into a landscape.
Ainsley also worked to create and establish the Master of Fine Art course at Glasgow School of Art where she taught until 2005.
Once the piece was ready, we then added another layer of Tyvek to the other side. A piece of Jiffy foam wrap followed which is a cushioned material. This would further help to protext the piece when it was rolled. The cardboard tube was then wrapped in Jiffy foam wrap as well as Tyvek, which was placed on the protected textile. We then worked together to roll the painting using the cushioned cardboard tube. At the end we had the pice wrapped in a supported package which could be put back into the store ready to be transported.
Image: ‘The Big Man and the Flattened Female’ by Sam Ainsley being packaged to be put back in the store and ready for transport.
Caring for the Collection is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland.
Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to dedicate time to improve the condition of our artworks currently in our store, so that they will be able to be displayed in health and social care settings across Scotland.
Museum & Galleries Technician Modern Apprenticeship is supported by Museums Galleries Scotland provider of the apprenticeship, mentor and SCQF level 7
15 April 2026 by
Amy Miles