When Leonie Bell took up her “dream job” as V&A Dundee director in 2020, it marked the culmination of a personal and professional journey that had come full circle.
Born in Dundee, raised in Newport-on-Tay, and spending years honing her craft in Glasgow, her return to Dundee, and Broughty Ferry where she now lives, was both a homecoming and an opportunity to influence the future of a city she has always believed in.
Leonie, 49, describes growing up in Newport as “idyllic” and a “privilege.”
Her parents encouraged her to value culture, history, books, and galleries.
Yet, like many teenagers, she was eager to escape village life for the vibrancy of Glasgow, with its mix of culture, diversity, and subcultural movements.
“Newport was idyllic looking back,” says Leonie in an interview with The Courier.
“I didn’t have the burdens that kids have today. It was incredibly free. But by the time I hit my teens, I was bored and looking for something more exciting.”
At the University of Glasgow, Leonie initially studied English.
However, it was during a rare postgraduate programme in the history of decorative art and design that her true passion for design and architecture took root.
V&A Dundee job – and family – persuaded Leonie Bell to move back to Dundee
Glasgow, already buzzing with the energy of the City of Culture and preparing for its tenure as the UK’s City of Architecture, was the perfect environment for Leonie to cultivate her expertise.
She became deeply involved with Scotland’s architectural scene, with roles that included working on the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She worked at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design, and the City, as well as for government and public bodies.
But despite her success in Glasgow, Dundee’s “unique and special” pull never left her.
It wasn’t until 2020, though, when the position of director of V&A Dundee came up, that Leonie felt she could bring her vision for the city full circle.
On a deeply personal level, there was also a draw to be closer to her mum Barbara, who has since passed away.
She also wanted to rediscover her own roots and bring her three Glaswegian-born daughters to the beautiful corner of Scotland where she grew up.
What is Leonie Bell’s vision for V&A Dundee?
Leonie had long admired V&A Dundee from afar, knowing the transformative role the museum could play in the city’s revival.
When she joined in 2020, the museum had only been open two years, and Leonie’s task was clear: to take a visionary institution and ensure it was integrated into the cultural and social fabric of Dundee.
“We knew as a family that it would be all or nothing for us,” she reflects.
Leonie’s relationship with Dundee, though, is not merely about nostalgia.
“It feels like home, but I also see myself as a product of multiple hometowns,” she says.
She’s equally tied to St Andrews and Newport, each of which played a vital role in her upbringing.
What did Leonie admire about Dundee’s old Olympia leisure centre?
Leonie’s memories of growing up in Newport are layered with an understanding of Dundee’s evolution.
As someone always involved in design and architecture, she has witnessed firsthand the way Dundee’s industrial past has given way to a thriving creative and cultural future.
Growing up, Leonie would gaze across the water from her bedroom towards the old Olympia leisure centre, which ironically stood close to the very location that is now home to V&A Dundee.
Even then, Olympia’s civic modernist design left a lasting impression on her.
“I didn’t have the language for it then, but I loved the building,” she says.
“It invited all of us in as kids, to the flumes.”
It’s perhaps no surprise that she now finds herself in charge of a building that continues to invite the world in, albeit with a different purpose.
Vision for Dundee and gratitude for her ‘creative’ Madras College education
The transformation of Dundee, with V&A Dundee at its centre, is something Leonie is passionate about.
She is committed to ensuring the museum not only serves as a hub for global design but as a space for Dundee’s local community to engage with creativity and innovation.
“We are here for Dundee, for Scotland, the UK and internationally,” she asserts.
“We’ve transformed how we programme and how we use our spaces…so that every single thing we do with everything we have generates value and meaning.”
Leonie’s leadership is deeply rooted in the values she developed during her own education.
While she sees beauty in the design of Newport Primary School, she credits Madras College in St Andrews, where she spent her teenage years, for shaping her ambition.
What was special about Madras College in St Andrews?
“I don’t know if Madras intended to be a creative school,” says Leonie, who was in the same year as singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, before KT moved to Dundee High.
“But back then, it let young people have enough freedom to explore their own identities and to be educated in ways that were not just in the classroom.
“I firmly believe in a creative education in the classroom.
“But also encouraging kids to have opportunities outside the classroom, which is 100% something that we are working on at V&A Dundee.”
In the years since V&A Dundee’s opening, tourism to the city has increased by 50%, a statistic she proudly highlights. It’s apt, she laughs, as she turns 50 this year!
Yet, the true measure of success, she insists, lies in the social and cultural impact the museum has on the community.
What are V&A Dundee’s successes?
Asked if she feels design has benefited Dundee in the way she hoped, she says they’ve made progress but acknowledges that there is still work to be done.
Reflecting on V&A Dundee’s recent £2.6m funding boost from the UK government, she says they have “worked really hard to be in a good place.”
Recent successes include the free Dundee Tapestry exhibition, and another significant step has been free ticketing to all exhibitions for under-18s.
Last year was also a record-breaking year for school engagement.
“The numbers are just one part of that story,” she says.
“Because the experience those kids have when they’re here is really important, because it is building confidence, developing skills, creating aspiration.
“It’s also about developing a positive energy and ambition across this city that can come from culture.
“That doesn’t mean that you need to end up working in culture. But it gives the confidence and the sense that you can dream.”
Encouragement to visit V&A Dundee – and attend University of Dundee lecture
Leonie’s final message is a warm invitation for everybody to visit V&A Dundee.
“If people haven’t been yet, or if they haven’t been since we opened, we’d really love to see people come back and see the changes we’ve been making,” she says.
Leonie Bell will share her journey when she delivers the prestigious 2025 Mapstone Lecture at the University of Dundee on Thursday March 27, from 5pm – 6.30pm.
Entitled Design Dreams in Dundee: A Creative Leadership Journey, she’ll also discuss the ways design can transform lives, communities, and places.
The annual lecture celebrates the legacy of Elisabeth Mapstone, a prominent researcher and activist in social work and social policy, and the first female professor at the University of Dundee.
Elisabeth was appointed in 1975, the same year Leonie Bell was born at Ninewells Hospital.
The lecture is free and open to everyone. Ticket information is available via Eventbrite.
Conversation