about hasta

Welcome to HASTA, the history of art magazine affiliated with the University of St Andrews’ School of Art History. Publishing for the first time in 1983, we are the longest student-run publication associated with the university. Historically we have published in print, but since 2015 we publish weekly online with an annual print edition that features the best articles from the year.

We publish a variety of art and art history related articles ranging from features on forgotten artists to the highlights of St Andrews’s fashions shows. At HASTA, you can expect at least five weekly articles, including feature-length studies, global art news coverage, coverage on the arts in Scotland, and biographies about individual artists.

If you are passionate about art history and the art world, then HASTA is the magazine for you! If you are interesting in publishing for HASTA, you can submit articles to hasta@st-andrews.ac.uk

the committee

editor-in-chief

Madina Burkhanova

Madina is a final year History of Art student who grew up experimenting with all mediums of art. She is particularly passionate about acrylic portraiture, and indulges in this interest whenever possible. Originally from Uzbekistan, Madina is now writing her dissertation on the presence of Moorish and Islamic art in the small town of Toledo, Spain. In recent years, architecture has been her avenue of interest. She is particularly enthusiastic about studying how architecture can reflect the convergence of migration and art history.

Originally a writer for the Scotland team of HASTA before becoming an editor, Madina advocates for this small yet mighty section of the magazine. She believes that championing local art and influences is of utmost importance. In the year ahead, HASTA’s mission is to encourage general interest in Scotland’s wealth of national art. Furthermore, Madina hopes to create a more pronounced sense of community between editors, writers, and staff of the university’s Art History department.

DEPUTY editor-in-chief

Ami Melville

Ami is a fourth year studying English and Art History from Upstate New York. Growing up surrounded by the gorgeous landscapes and rolling hills of the Hudson River School movement, she feels her surroundings greatly influenced her passion for art history. Her art historical interests range from Early Netherlandish portraiture and the Italian Renaissance to High Gothic architecture. Her favourite painting is The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by French historical painter Paul Delaroche.

She is delighted to be contributing to HASTA for a third year and hopes for many future HASTA events, socials and collaborations with other creative societies.

news editor

Elizabeth Gillett

Elizabeth is a third year art history and management student from Austin, Texas. Her interest in the history of art was ignited through the understanding that art can convey notions of the human experience in ways that words cannot—that and a slightly pretentious habit of relating to every work of art she encounters, from Bonnard’s Earthly Paradise to Yoshitomo Nara’s Thinking My Home.

Having interned in fine arts insurance, the gallery sector, and market research, Elizabeth possesses a keen interest in the art market, valuation, and the auction sector. Additionally, she is fascinated by the intersection of art and mental health, especially concerning women artists. Next year, Elizabeth plans to write her dissertation on the extent to which competition and status within collecting circles influence hammer prices at fine art auctions.

scotland editor

Brynn Gordon

Brynn is a fourth year Art History student from Hong Kong. Her favourite works of Scottish art are Ian Hamilton Finlay's print and landscape work, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House. Outside of her role as editor of the Scotland section, she is interested in post-war Chinese landscape art, a topic she is exploring in her dissertation.

If you see her around town, ask her about the parallels between the English and Chinese modernist movements.

born this week editor

Zachary Vincent

Zachary is a fourth-year Art History and Modern History student from Colorado, USA, serving as editor of the Born this Week section for the second year running. He has an interest in bringing to light the work of artists often neglected by the traditional art historical canon and in using biographical writing to create challenging and dynamic discourse about art, art practice, and the role of the artist.

With a focus on modern and postmodern art of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, Zachary is interested in the role of cultural heritage preservation and its role in modernist artmaking. He primarily researches the relationship between different media in early independence-era West Africa.

features Editor

Elle Borissow

Elle is a fourth year Art History undergraduate from England and Australia. Whilst editing the Features section for HASTA, she is inspired in her own research by the emergence of abstraction and colour theory. Elle’s particular interests span the visionary work of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, in her capture of spirituality’s fluidity on canvas; the colourful reverberations of Wassily Kandinsky and his musical experiments in Germany; and the sonorous lyricism of Sonia and Robert Delaunay’s movement, Orphism, in Paris.

Having recently visited Düsseldorf to see af Klint and Kandinsky curated side by side at the Kunstsammertung NRW, Elle also has a special interest in the transnational exchange and politicisation of abstraction across borders.

Reviews editor

Thomas Gibbs

Thomas is a fourth year art history student, currently writing a dissertation on the architecture of British colonial railway stations. His interests include Medieval manuscripts, Baroque painting, and turn of the century architecture. He spends a lot of time visiting museums to indulge these interests, thus leading to his position as Reviews editor of HASTA, helping other people indulge their’s.

HEAD OF GRAPHICS

Zita Vagdama

Zita is the Head of Graphics for the magazine and is a fourth-year Art History and Chinese Studies student. She is passionate about arts and design and has oil painted from a young age. She is particularly interested in visual communication and how art interacts with spaces and environments. Within art history, Zita is keen about South Asian art and unconventional ways of experiencing art. She studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan and is also social secretary for the University’s Pole Dancing Club.

HEAD OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Maddie Bailey

Maddie Bailey is a third year art history student originally from San Francisco and the Napa Valley. She is very excited to be the Head of Social Media this year. Maddie loves most art, but particularly enjoys looking at the Impressionists and the convergence of art and literature in the south of France during the Lost Generation, as well as the friendships of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Picasso. She looks forward to working with the HASTA team and making the publication more widespread in the St Andrews community.