Beyond T-Squared: Finding Art (and a Better Cinema) at DCA

I sometimes find it hard to fill my time here at St Andrews. Between coursework and — depending on the time of day — the Old Union Coffee Shop or Aikman’s outings, I often spend the rest of the day rotting in my room. In my hometown, I might fill my time going to the cinema — and no, I will not see a film at T-Squared Social — or taking a pottery class at my local community centre, yet there doesn’t seem to be an equivalent in St Andrews itself. Whilst this town has a lot to offer, it sorely lacks a space for the visual arts to thrive. However, at the beginning of this semester, I found a place that offered exactly what I had been missing.

Dundee Contemporary Arts, better known as DCA, is, at its core, a very plush cinema. Situated a nice five-minute walk from the Dundee Railway Station, DCA also offers classes from art courses in their print shop to more practical sessions, including introductory courses to Adobe Photoshop. In addition to this, there is a gallery with rotating exhibits, a swanky restaurant called Jute, and, of course, films shown daily (at super reasonable prices, with a student ticket only costing £7). It is the perfect place to spend your day off, which is exactly what I have been doing every Wednesday for the past six weeks. 

This week, I attended We Contain Multitudes, an exhibition featuring artists Andrew Gannon, Nnena Kalu, Daisy Lafragem, and Jo Longhurst, on show until 26 April. The exhibition brings together sculpture, drawing, painting, poetry, and photography, all connected by each artist’s lived experience of disability. Walking through the two galleries that this exhibition takes up, a few pieces stood out, including Kalu’s large sculptural forms. Made from layers of tape, thread, and paper wrapped around frames, they seemed to twist and stretch across the room, as if displaying the movement of the artist’s body. Conversely, Lafragem’s paintings were more intimate. Created on the floor whilst the artist navigated chronic pain, the works incorporated kinesiology tape, normally used to support joints, embedding the reality of bodily care into the art itself.

The exhibition's curators did a phenomenal job of providing context, with plenty of descriptions of the art on display, and the pieces they selected genuinely flowed together. The exhibition is relatively small; I was able to accomplish it in under 30 minutes. However, due to the rotating nature of DCA’s exhibitions, you are able to return time and time again to see the new artists they feature. Starting on 16 May, a new exhibition, Francis Dosoo: Portrait of Dorothy Gale, will open to the public.

After exploring the gallery, I headed downstairs to Jute, DCA’s restaurant. While on the pricier side, everything I ordered was delicious. I had brought my roommate along on my DCA adventure, so we split a citrusy salad and salmon, a ginormous burger that is definitely enough for two or maybe three people, and some standout truffle fries. Whilst the Jute only offered a small menu, they provided the perfect entrées to split amongst people — and in my opinion, that's the best way to order at a restaurant. Although expensive, I definitely recommend the Jute to those wanting the full DCA experience.

We finished off the night with a visit to the in-house cinema to see Sinners, which was nominated for a record-breaking sixteen Academy Awards and won four. During awards season, DCA is showing all the Oscar Best Picture nominees, along with films nominated in other categories. I’m one of those people who believes films are best seen on the big screen. Being able to see such a variety of films for cheap is much more valuable than just watching on my laptop in my room. 

DCA may initially seem like a far-flung cinema which is no competitor to the much more local T-Squared. After all, on a rainy weekday night, a trek to Dundee might seem unappealing. However, it’s about much more than just the cinema: The spaces it creates for a diverse range of artists and the genuinely useful courses they offer for every age range make it a valuable common space where art lovers can spend their time without breaking the bank.

Photo: DCA