For public

The Wellcome funding from April 2025-December 2026 allowed WCAIR to initiate a variety of different projects to share our passion for science with many different communities. This included those close to us in Dundee, throughout Scotland and across the world. To achieve this, we created a busy public engagement programme which included:

• A broad range of projects
• Science art collaborations
• Partners and co-conspirators

We firmly believed that having lots of different things going on means we can include more people in what we do, whether they like science, art, theatre, gaming, or anything else.

To achieve this, we work in close collaboration with many different partners. This includes our colleagues across the University of Dundee and, in particular, the School of Life Sciences. Our ambition is to further enhance their nationally-recognised public engagement work. WCAIR also works with Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. With them, we want to explore how art can help people understand what we do. Working with artists can help our scientists look at their work in a new, creative way.

These pages represent the outputs of the WCAIR public engagement programme from 2017-2025.  For current public engagement programmes please visit the DDU website or the School of Life Sciences website.

Outputs and resources to recreate activities from the WCAIR PE programme can be found through the University of Discovery Portal.

The WCAIR public engagement programme was led by Ali Floyd and Alisa Mackintosh.

Art and science

We are fortunate to work with LifeSpace: Science Art Research Gallery in the creation of a new science art programme. In 2018 we took part in ISEA Durban, delivering a workshop in partnership with colleagues from the University of Cape Town. We also had our first co-commission with NEoN Digital Art’s Festival, which led to the creation of Para-site-seeing. This digital art piece was so well-received that we decided to scale it up for our first LifeSpace show. Para-site-seeing: Departure Lounge ran in LifeSpace from May until September 2019 and toured to Dundee Science Centre, while our exhibition with Dundee Print Collective had a successful run in LifeSpace before touring to Stobswell. We have continued to work with other artists since, including the incredibly talented Emily Fong , Giovanna MacKenna and Janice Aitken, who have continued to challenge our perceptions of what art and science really are.

Public engagement partners in Dundee and beyond

Our partnerships with communities, arts organisations, makers and businesses are vital to us. So far, we have been fortunate enough to work with the Dundee Rep, Dundee Science Centre, Stobswell Forum and many more. We are also looking beyond our city to create new programming in the wider world. If you would like to work with us or find out more about what we do please do get in touch.