1 May 2013

V&A at Dundee appoints head of learning and engagement

Photo is of Sarah attached - © Roy Mehta credited

V&A at Dundee - the project to establish an international centre for design at the heart of Dundee's revitalised waterfront - has announced that Sarah Saunders has been appointed as the project's Head of Learning and Engagement.

Sarah was previously Deputy Head of Education at National Galleries of Scotland, a position she had held since 2008.

"I am delighted to have Sarah on board as part of the team for V&A at Dundee," said Philip Long, Director of V&A at Dundee. "The delivery of inspiring learning programmes and creative engagement with the public across Scotland is a vital part of the project and I am sure that in Sarah we have someone ideally placed to realise this vision."

Sarah, who has now started in her new post, worked at the V&A in London from 2002 to 2006 and was the museum's first Student Education Officer.

"My time at the V&A was thrilling and inspirational and I have had an ambition to work for V&A at Dundee ever since the project was announced," said Sarah. "This job is a unique opportunity to develop and deliver a programme of design engagement fit for a world class 21st century museum. I am committed to creating a dynamic offer that will inspire, support and welcome participants of all ages and from all walks of life, and reach communities across Scotland and the wider world.

"Kengo Kuma's iconic and spectacular design for the building has already set the tone and vision for V&A at Dundee. I am confident we can deliver a great range of inspiring programmes and ensure that the activity of the project is every bit as inspiring as the building."

Sarah moved from the V&A in London in 2006 to take up a position as Learning and Programmes Officer at National Museums Scotland, before moving on to National Galleries of Scotland.

She has a very strong background in design, with graduate and postgraduate qualifications from the University of Central England, Birmingham. She then worked as both a teacher and then lecturer in Art & Design.

Notes to editors

The V&A is the world's leading museum of art and design with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. It was established to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A's collections, which span over 2000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world, continue to intrigue, inspire and inform.

V&A at Dundee
V&A at Dundee will be an international centre for design, housed in a world-class building at the heart of Dundee's revitalised waterfront. It will host major exhibitions, celebrate our design heritage, inspire and promote contemporary talent, and encourage design innovation for the future. Unlike any other museum in Scotland, V&A at Dundee will focus on design - not design as a separate discipline, but its everyday impact - how it can delight, make things work and ultimately change lives. V&A at Dundee aims to do what every good museum does - to inform, educate and entertain - but also explicitly, through its wider programmes, intends to generate new creativity and innovation across Scotland.

V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a ground-breaking partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum - the world's greatest museum of art and design - and Dundee City Council, the Universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee, and Scottish Enterprise.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded it a first round pass of up to £9.2m, including £200,000 development funding, in May 2102. The Scottish Government has committed £15m in capital towards the project's £45million budget. www.vandaatdundee.com.

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