Museums in Scotland awarded £421,000

Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) has announced that £421,857 has been awarded to 9 museums across the country thanks to support from the Scottish Government.

MGS, the national development body for the museum sector, has awarded 9 museums grants through the Museum Development Fund. The funded projects are responding to different challenges including needs in their local community, increasing financial resilience, strengthening connections with their local area, and attracting national and international visitors.

The awarded projects include North Lanarkshire’s Museums & Collections collaborating with local communities impacted by the legacies of slavery and empire. Together they will create more inclusive heritage spaces and develop collections knowledge. At Historylinks Museum in Dornoch the new People’s Gallery will tell the stories of ordinary people who have contributed to the history and heritage of the town. It will be co-curated by the community and include participation from schools and local clubs. Museum nan Eilean will support the international interest in the heritage of the Outer Hebrides and increase the sustainability of the Museum Service through holding an Emigration Conference. This event will connect local, national, and international audiences who hold a shared interest.

Lucy Casot, CEO Museums Galleries Scotland said:

“We’re delighted to fund 9 varied projects from museums across Scotland. These projects represent the work the sector is undertaking in remaining responsive to the needs of their community, better representing stories from people in Scotland and across the world, and contributing to a sustainable tourist experience.”

Clare Weir, Collections & Visual Arts Manager, North Lanarkshire Council:

“We are absolutely delighted to receive this funding from Museum Galleries Scotland. While our museums and collections celebrate the area’s proud industrial past, there is a pressing need to re-interpret and develop our collections with a focus on these more difficult and challenging histories. We are excited to be working with the University of Glasgow and people with lived experiences in our communities to establish these new narratives, and ultimately develop new ways of working in the long term to embed anti-racist practice in our work.”

Successful recipients: 

Kilmartin Museum

The museum received £44,542. The grant will support visitor engagement with Kilmartin Museum and Argyll and Bute Council’s archaeological collections. Opportunities for visitors to engage with this unique collection will include access to the newly built collections store and through temporary exhibitions.

Dumfries and Galloway Council

Annan Museum has received £50,000 to support the refresh of Annan Museum through increasing staff capacity. A new staff member will help make the most of a major capital development scheduled in 2024 for Annan Museum’s host building complex. They’ll work with volunteers to develop new displays in consultation with members of their community.

Judith Hewitt, Museums Curator – East, Dumfries and Galloway Council said:

“This award will really help move Annan Museum forward.  Having curatorial staff assistance will enable us to better understand and organise our collections.  This will provide the foundation for future exhibitions and displays.  We look forward to researching the fascinating history of this part of Dumfries and Galloway and sharing hitherto hidden histories with our visitors in the newly redisplayed museum.  We are very grateful to MGS for supporting our work and enabling Annan Museum to enter its next chapter.” 

Historylinks Museum

The museum has received £42,238 to support the new People’s Gallery, which will tell the stories of ordinary people who have contributed to the history and heritage of the town. It will be co-curated by the community and include participation from schools and local clubs.

Lynne Mahoney, Historylinks Museum said:

“We are absolutely delighted to receive the grant funding. The award will allow us to work within our newly built extension to create a community curated gallery. The project will bring people together to tell their stories through new and exciting exhibitions. The funding will also provide an employment opportunity and we are thrilled to be taking this project forward thanks to MGS.”

Inverclyde Council

The Council’s Museum Service has received £54,000 to use digital technology to increase access to one of their founding collections, Natural Sciences.

Councillor Jim Clocherty, convener of Inverclyde Council’s Education and Communities committee, said:

“This funding is fantastic news and I’d like to congratulate everyone at the Watt Institution and McLean Museum who was involved in the application.

“Tastes have changed among museum visitors and traditional Victorian displays of natural science specimens are no longer popular. This funding will help digitise the wide and varied collection at the McLean Museum to make it more accessible and show it to a whole new audience.

“It will also look at climate change and its impact on local wildlife in Inverclyde. This can help us understand environmental changes at a local level and across the world.

“I look forward to seeing the changes take shape and visiting the museum myself to see this fantastic collection on display in a modern way.”

North Lanarkshire Council

North Lanarkshire’s Museums & Collections will receive £60,000 to collaborate with local communities impacted by the legacies of slavery and empire. Together they will create more inclusive heritage spaces and develop collections knowledge.

Clare Weir, Collections & Visual Arts Manager, North Lanarkshire Council:

“We are absolutely delighted to receive this funding from Museum Galleries Scotland. While our museums and collections celebrate the area’s proud industrial past, there is a pressing need to re-interpret and develop our collections with a focus on these more difficult and challenging histories. We are excited to be working with the University of Glasgow and people with lived experiences in our communities to establish these new narratives, and ultimately develop new ways of working in the long term to embed anti-racist practice in our work.”

Paxton House

The team have received £30,000 to support their 250th anniversary exhibition ‘Chippendale Laid Bare’, which will highlight their internationally important Recognised Chippendale furniture. Staff training will also take place in order to offer new accessible tours for people with additional needs, and new learning offers for a range of visitors.

David Livingstone Birthplace

The museum received £41,000 to make activities and events that connect David Livingstone, nature, and their 26 acres of parkland on the banks of the river Clyde. They’ll co-create ways with their local community to take the inside-out and bring the outside-in.

Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

The museum received £30,000 to focus on schools, bringing children and young people back to the museum with a new and exciting programme.

Western Isles Council – Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Museum nan Eilean has received £20,077, which will support the international interest in the heritage of the Outer Hebrides and increase the sustainability of the Museum Service through holding an Emigration Conference. This event will connect local, national, and international audiences who hold a shared interest.