Conference 2022

Start off your conference experience at our opening night drinks reception at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. One of Edinburgh’s most remarkable buildings, the neo-gothic palace was the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery. Our party will be held in the building’s famous Great Hall, where delegates can view its stained-glass windows, stunning astrological ceiling and painted murals.

In person attendees only

Museum Detox is a network for people of colour who work in museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sector. This meet-up is for members of the network and other people of colour working in the museum sector to connect with each other ahead of the conference. 

Location TBC

In person attendees only

Corinne Fowler is an expert in the legacies of colonialism to heritage, literature and representations of history. Her project, The Countryside: Ten Walks Through Colonial Britain, has been exploring Britain’s colonial connections and its impact on our lives today. She is joined by Graham Campbell, who accompanied her on walks in Jura and Islay, and Raj Pal, who was her fellow walker in the Cotswolds.

All attendees

A chance to take a screen break for our online audience, while attendees in Edinburgh can grab a coffee, visit our networking area and meet our sponsors.

A session exploring issues of intersectionality and climate justice. More details soon. 

All attendees

This practical workshop explores the concepts of “white privilege” and “white supremacy” and how they impact all areas of museum activity. The session supports participants to apply the concepts to look critically at organisational practice and to use that understanding to build and sustain anti-racist practice. Participants will be encouraged to explore what personal actions they can take in order to bring about organisational change.

In person attendees only

It has been 15 years since the publication of the original Disposal Toolkit and the MA is currently reviewing its guidance for ethical decision-making on disposals from museum collections. We want to empower the sector to embed disposal as part of sustainable collections practice to maintain relevant collections while continuing to protect important public collections from unethical sale.  Come to this workshop to find out more about the MA’s plans for a new toolkit, and for the opportunity to contribute your views on this important piece of work.

In person attendees only

Interisland Collective is a group of Tagata Moana (people of the Pacific ocean) artists, cultural practitioners, curators and community workers who have selected taonga, informed and designed the interpretive planning decisions for the display. Paisley Museum’s work with Interisland started with an extended visit by the group that set the foundations for a reciprocal relationship.

The visit to Paisley’s publicly accessible museum store changed the museum’s perception of the collections. The museum no longer sees them as “objects” but “taonga” – living, breathing manifestations that carry mana (a supernatural force in a person, place or object), narratives and ancestral history. Staff are now grappling with what that means for storage, research and display. Paisley Museum Re-Imagined and Interisland partners honestly reflect on the ongoing process and challenges of working and learning together. Hear why co-production can embed real change in organisations and why partnership working needs flexibility. 

All attendees

Optium Museum Acrylic and UltraVue Laminated glass are increasingly known solutions for framing projects. However, their anti-reflective and UV protective qualities, among other features, can make them an ideal solution for many different types of display. This presentation will feature a variety of applications including display cases and double-sided plinths, plus highlight funding opportunities such as the Icon-Tru Vue grant.

All attendees

A short break between sessions.

Members of the Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums Project Steering Group discuss how empire, colonialism and historic slavery can be addressed using museum collections and museum spaces. This group will discuss the key recommendations in their recent report and how the sector can take them forward, including funding opportunities. The project builds on existing work from within the equalities sector and from across Scotland’s museums, to explore how the sector can confront challenging histories in museums.

All attendees

An interactive session offering delegates the chance to explore sustainability in their organisations and what they can do to reduce their carbon emissions. We kick off with details on how to use the new Green Book for Museums, which has been developed by Buro Happold in consultation with the sector to provide guidance, standards and toolkits to help museums become more sustainable. We then explore some practical examples from Norfolk Museums Service before breaking into groups to discuss the key issues that have been raised and share solutions for the way forward.

In person attendees only

In this workshop we explore the Museums Association’s new Competency Framework and how you can use it to support your professional development. This workshop offers practical support that will give you a greater awareness of your strengths as well as any gaps in your development. You will leave with a draft professional development plan, answers to your key professional development questions, and hints and tips on how to progress your career. 

In person attendees only

In 2020, National Museums Liverpool was approached by a young man from the Yemeni community in Liverpool, seeking support for a relative with dementia. He said that the continued war in Yemen is preventing families from travelling to reconnect with their heritage, elders’ memories are fading, and young people are struggling to connect with their cultural heritage. His discovery of the My House of Memories app appeared to offer a solution but did not represent his family heritage – he wanted to get involved to change this.

This session shares the speakers’ experiences of working with the House of Memories team to co-create the Connecting with Yemeni Elders’ Heritage digital programme, including: the creation of a Yemini Advisory group; the process to engage young people as digital curators; and the production of a bilingual app package and toolkit specifically designed for museums working with diverse young people across the UK. The session also explores the significance of a digital Yemini collection co-created in Liverpool to support the wider UK Yemeni community.

All attendees

A session from our conference sponsor Art Fund.

All attendees

Lunchtime break for all. For attendees in Edinburgh, lunch is served in the Cromdale where you can also network and meet our sponsors.

Come and hear about the work of the Museums Association over the past year. Includes the Museums Change Live Awards. 

All attendees

A short break between sessions.

This session – a film screening and panel discussion – explores how the placing of Black queer lives at the centre of a bold reimagining of our shared heritage might contribute to opening up society’s conversations around the role of culture in nation-making by reshaping our perceptions of who belongs and who doesn’t, whose lives are valued and affirmed and whose are not. Led by the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries in partnership with Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage and the National Trust, Permissible Beauty has been developed through a collaboration between art historian, performer and writer David McAlmont; portrait photographer Robert Taylor; researcher Richard Sandell; and filmmaker Mark Thomas.

Permissible Beauty examines how beauty has been defined, hailed and perceived in the past and how this is reflected in, and shaped by, our nation’s heritage. It explores how fresh ways of recognising and celebrating beauty might be opened up and how more expansive, rich and generous expressions might be brought into view. Permissible Beauty aims to expand and enrich the repertoire of strategies museums and heritage use to engage audiences that rarely see themselves reflected in the nation’s heritage and, more broadly, to work in ways that counter racism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia. 

All attendees

Looking from certain perspectives in the museum sector it can feel as though there is uniform and unequivocal support for decolonisation, but is this necessarily true? Decolonisation, as an area of theory and practice, is a container for many different conversations, policies and practices. It can range from the repatriation of objects to the hiring of more diverse staff, for example. How does being a broad church of ideas and processes impact on how museum professionals approach decolonisation work? And when the field is so potentially emotive, does it lead people away from more difficult confrontations, such as their own positions of power, towards areas that are perceived as ‘safer’?

In this workshop session we explore why decolonisation work is so emotive, what lies behind some of the unspoken assumptions, and what you can practically do to confront, rather than shy away from, its more complex aspects. We look at how to build common-purpose and solidarity in a team who will necessarily come to this work from different perspectives and with different agendas, and at how this can be a strength, rather than a weakness, in delivering meaningful change. 

In person attendees only

We want to see emerging museum professionals actively involved in decision-making and shaping policy in museums. With 16- to 24-year-olds remaining one of the most under-served museum communities, the sector has to change to remain relevant, attract younger communities and encourage new people into the workforce.

This session aims to empower young and emerging professionals to become actively involved within the sector and be equipped to influence change. Speakers discuss how emerging museum professionals can shape the future of museums as they relate to the conference themes. The session will provide an opportunity for current leaders to hear what they can do to support this group and embed their voices within organisational decision-making.

In person attendees only

Hear how the Jewish Museum London created a workshop that helps children to talk about the topic of loss. Rather than creating another factual workshop about Holocaust education, the museum wanted to instead think about how the world around it was evolving. Covid-19 had changed children’s lives forever and many were experiencing grief and loss for the first time. This project took a year to develop, and a pilot stage was launched in January 2022 in partnership with mental health experts at Grief Encounter, which supports children with loss. The team at the Jewish Museum London is now keen to share its knowledge and skills with others to help them support children and young people with mental health topics through their own collections. 

All attendees

A session from one of our conference sponsors. 

All attendees

A chance to take a screen break for our online audience, while attendees in Edinburgh can grab a coffee, visit our networking area and meet our sponsors.

The pandemic has brought the mental health of the workforce into stark focus. As the sector managed an unprecedented time of instability, the need for mutual support increased. With much of their membership being small independent museums, Scotland’s geographic forums became an important source of community and camaraderie during a time where many felt cut-off and isolated. This panel discussion highlights the variety of approaches taken, shares best practice and explores what more can be done within these ready-made networks to support and improve the wellbeing of the workforce.

All attendees

Welsh Government’s vision is “of a Wales that is proudly anti-racist, where everyone is treated as an equal citizen”. The creation of its Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan and the commitment to mandatory teaching of Black, Asian and minority ethnic histories in schools has created a policy framework that Welsh museums are now helping to deliver. Working collaboratively with community partners, museums of all sizes are addressing inequality within their collections, workforce, displays and programming.

This session focuses on practical examples of change in Welsh local and national museums. It shares learning from innovative practice and country-wide interventions and programmes and from museums’ focused, collaborative activity to change their policies and practice. It addresses areas such as developing collections and exhibitions; school resources; upskilling staff; and changing recruitment processes. Museum workers and community partners lead practical sessions to discuss the work they have undertaken together, explore the opportunities and challenges presented, and give practical tips and advice for delegates to take back to their own museums. 

In person attendees only

The past year has shone a light on violence against women and girls. The isolating impact of Covid has also led to increasing levels of domestic abuse. According to Women’s Aid, the police in England and Wales receive more than 100 calls an hour (on average) relating to domestic abuse, and this has increased during the pandemic. Scottish Women’s Aid estimates that one in five women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and has charted an increased demand for women’s support services as a result of Covid.

In this session, a panel of experts and campaigners explore what role museums can play in highlighting domestic abuse, how we can support people who have suffered abuse, and how we can make sure their voices and stories are represented. Speakers from women’s organisations, museums and the Safer Museums working group discuss whether museums can become safe spaces by working with community organisations. 

In person attendees only

Each day that we run the historic static steam engines in our small, independent, community-focused industrial site we burn one ton of carbon. Is there a way to continue running as a museum without it becoming economically and socially unviable? This session explores how we are setting out to answer this question, and touches on governance, leadership, staff training, interpretation and the visitor experience. There is also the really big question: why and how we are focusing on sustainability at a time of reduced income with no external funding? We aim to inspire you, no matter your museum’s subject, size or budget, to give this work a go, be brave and think about your organisation in a new way.

All attendees

A session from one of our conference sponsors. 

All attendees

Award-winning poet and playwright Hannah Lavery was appointed the Edinburgh Makar in 2021. She is an associate artist with the National Theatre of Scotland and has written for Radio Four, Lyceum Theatre and Pitlochry Theatre.

The Drift, her highly acclaimed autobiographical lyric play, toured as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Season in 2019 and 2020. Hannah’s debut collection, Blood Salt Spring, was published this year by Polygon and her pamphlet, Finding Seaglass, was published by Stewed Rhubarb. Her play Lament for Sheku Bayoh premiered at Edinburgh International Festival in 2020 and toured in its digital version to Auckland Arts Festival.

Hannah was selected by Owen Sheers as one of his Ten Writers Asking Questions That Will Shape Our Future for the International Literature Showcase, a project from the National Writing Centre and the British Council. She was a recipient of the Adopt a Playwright Award 2020 and the New Playwright’s Award from Playwriting Studio Scotland 2019. 

All attendees

Join us in the National Museum of Scotland’s breathtaking Grand Gallery for our main conference party, where you’ll have a chance to meet and mingle with colleagues amid some of the museum’s most dramatic objects, including the 19th-century lighthouse lens and the four-storey Window on the World display, the largest single museum installation in the UK.

In person attendees only

Key figures in the sector discuss what type of leadership is needed in times of crisis such as this and what leadership might look like going forward. Our speakers share their experiences of the past two years as they reflect on the challenges that their organisations have faced during the pandemic and how they addressed these. How are they leading on issues such as decolonisation, anti-racism and the climate crisis and what are their future plans in these areas? And what can they do to support their staff and communities in the face of the growing cost of living crisis?

All attendees

A chance to take a screen break for our online audience, while attendees in Edinburgh can grab a coffee, visit our networking area and meet our sponsors.

Our Shared Cultural Heritage has introduced new models for engaging underrepresented young people with heritage – as creators, decision makers, citizens and trainers. The programme aims to make museums better places for young people to explore identity and belonging. It is also designed to help them connect with others and become active and vocal participants in organisational decision-making. Learn about the challenges faced by young people involved in the programme, their experiences of making change in the heritage sector, their views on anti-racism and decolonisation and the positive impact that Our Shared Cultural Heritage has had on their careers.

If you’re keen to make your museum inclusive and caring for young people and want to museums to learn from them, this session is for you. Come and explore the radical transformations that can take place when the heritage sector is genuinely committed to engaging with young peoples’ interests and identities. 

All attendees

Museums have a big responsibility to address climate change and sustainability. From the way buildings are designed, how objects are exhibited, to how a museum is integrated into its surrounding context, managing both heritage and sustainability will be a difficult task for the sector in the coming years. This panel takes the recently refurbished Burrell Collection in Glasgow – the first museum in the UK to achieve a Breeam excellent rating – as a jumping off point to explore the issues at stake for a broad range of museums.

Discussion covers the design and retrofit of heritage buildings, highlighting how creative approaches to energy efficiency, ventilation and the reuse of materials can complement architectural heritage while improving museum environments and collection standards. Speakers also address the role of built heritage as a platform to engage audiences in sustainability. Set to educate, inspire and provoke discussion from a multitude of audiences, the session is aimed at anyone with an interest with how to manage sustainability issues in museum settings. 

In person attendees only

Museums are not neutral, neither are they representative. We know that people are missing, ignored, diminished and excluded by public interpretations of history and those who wrote and preserved it – and this didn’t just happen in the past tense, it’s happening now. Space Invaders is a UK-wide feminist museums activist group, but we are not just talking about the absence of women and our stories. The group believes that a feminist approach to interpretation is intersectional, rooted in equality and inclusion for all.

It is easy to point out the absences, but how do we create working practices that ensure we use a representative and inclusive approach? This session advocates for active reflection, asking challenging questions, finding honest answers and undertaking new research. Panellists share their work to create inclusive interpretation that challenges the status quo, finds and shares hidden, ignored and forgotten stories, and creates the conditions for the museum space to be well and truly invaded. The focus is on the processes and challenges of doing this work, the questions that arise, the impact on our wellbeing and the problems we need to overcome. 

In person attendees only

This session explores the powerful impact on the wellbeing of communities and practitioners through their engagement with IWM’s Second World War and Holocaust Partnership Programme (SWWHPP). The programme’s dynamic, inclusive and sustainable model brings communities and individuals together with museums and cultural organisations to share lesser-known stories of these histories in a creative and enabling way.

In Wales, Syrian community members have been working with the Centre for the Movement of People at Aberystwyth University and a filmmaker to explore themes around displacement to create a temporary exhibition. In Scotland, Industrial Museums Scotland is working with young people at the Devil’s Porridge Museum and Scottish Fisheries Museum to create an artwork while exploring local and international connections to the second world war. And in England, Manchester Jewish Museum has developed a creative hub with young people and creative artists to reimagine commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day.

Speakers from each organisation will share the impact of their programmes and the meaningful value they have brought to communities and their own workforces as well as the challenges of developing new relationships with communities during and as we emerge from lockdown. 

All attendees

A session from our conference sponsor Emily Associates.

All attendees

A short break between sessions.

Black Cultural Archives, Wellcome Collection and Wellcome Connecting Science are co-commissioning artists Larry Achiampong and David Blandy to make a new work in their Genetic Automata series, exploring the roots and impact of scientific racism. These three very different organisations come together to discuss how collaboration can be a tool for anti-racist practice, effecting sector-wide change toward a more socially just and equitable society. The session explores how science has been used as a tool for the systemic repression for sections of society, particularly around eugenics and race.

Sasha Henriques will discuss how her work as the only Black genetic counsellor in the UK led her to research race equity in genomics and health research at the Wellcome Genome Campus. Lisa Anderson will talk about the Black Cultural Archives’ beginnings as a community response to systemic racism and the need to self-represent the lived experiences of African and Caribbean people in Britain. Shamita Sharmacharja will examine the Wellcome Collection’s complicity in establishing narratives of racial supremacy and the kinds of community-led research needed to decolonise its collection and fulfil its ambition to be an anti-racist museum. The session is chaired by writer, researcher and public scholar Furaha Asani, a self-described precarious migrant, mental health advocate and loud anti-racist, who is also on Connecting Science’s community board. 

All attendees

In this interactive and practical session, participants will have time and space to reflect on their personal and professional wellbeing, how it relates to the tasks, projects and relationships they have, and what this means for themselves, their teams and the communities they work with. Through discussion, reflection and planning, participants will leave with clarity around their triggers and boundaries, with strategies to enable them to work most effectively, and they will have opportunities to respond to recent research in this area of practice.

In person attendees only

Disabled people are still chronically under-represented in the museum workforce, on boards and in our audiences, and the lives, contributions and perspectives of disabled people are still under-represented in our collections and exhibitions. Curating for Change, a fellowship and traineeship programme which includes fully funded paid work placements with mentoring and training opportunities for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people wanting to pursue a career within museums, is aiming to change this. In this session fellows and trainees will reflect on their experiences including where the gaps in collections and collections knowledge are and what can be done to redress that.

In person attendees only

The David Livingstone Birthplace Museum reopened in 2021 after major refurbishment. While the initial exhibition redesign may be complete, the museum is thinking hard about how it can continue efforts to decolonise the museum and engage key communities and partners. A series of case studies addresses community-led collections research, international partnerships and anti-racist training in the context of legacies of slavery and colonialism.

All attendees

A session from one of our conference sponsors. 

All attendees

Lunchtime break for all. For attendees in Edinburgh, lunch is served in the Cromdale where you can also network and meet our sponsors.

Speakers discuss the role of culture during times of conflict. They ask: what should we prioritise and value during these periods and how best can we support those directly involved? More details soon.

All attendees

A short break between sessions.

Climate change continues with extreme weather impacts and rising sea levels. This change will bring the loss of our natural, built and cultural heritage, and adaptation planning for this loss is crucial in preparing for climate change. This session explores how museums can use their existing and future collections to support communities to adapt to the loss of place and culture.

The session is designed to encourage conversations about a just transition towards environmental sustainability which reflects the connections with our cultural heritage and adaptation planning, exploring questions such as: how can museums support people’s wellbeing and sense of place and identity in the face of loss and change? How can museums record and reflect the changing environment and the impact on local places and communities? How can museums encourage people to think about their ongoing role in shaping the landscape and adapt to ensure sustainability?

All attendees

This is a practical session introducing community-led methods of exploring and sharing knowledge about museum collections. Community group participants from across the UK have designed a session based on their experiences of leading collections-based research and creative outputs at museums and galleries through the Exchange project. This innovative and ambitious project focused on participatory approaches led by South Asian, African and Caribbean diaspora community participants and seven museum and gallery partners in Scotland and England from October 2021 to October 2022. Delegates will be inspired and directed by the experiences of the community groups and the outcomes of participatory approaches.

The Exchange project, funded by the AHRC, focuses on community-led research exploring collections across the UK, researching empire, migration and life in Britain, with a central focus on participatory practice and equality, diversity and inclusion in the sector. Exchange is led by National Museums Scotland and Royal Museums Greenwich, in partnership with Edinburgh Museums and Galleries, Glasgow Life, David Livingstone Birthplace Museum, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, SS Great Britain, National Museum of the Royal Navy, and Museum of the Home. 

In person attendees only

This session is part of the Front of House Charter for Change implementation and dissemination plan. It provides an in-person opportunity to further explore the Charter for Change and the five principles of practice: wellbeing, contracts and conditions, recognition, inclusion and professional development. In this interactive and practical session, participants have time and space to reflect on the charter and observe how they might use it within their own organisations to effect positive change. Using materials produced and available for others to use – a PowerPoint presentation, audit information and the action plan – individuals are invited to experience first-hand how to effect change in their organisation by doing the reflective work and, where applicable, modelling the charter’s approach. 

In person attendees only

An exploration of racist objects in our collections, offering practical advice on how to deal with this issue. More details soon. 

All attendees

A session from one of our conference sponsors. 

All attendees

A chance to take a screen break for our online audience, while attendees in Edinburgh can grab a coffee, visit our networking area and meet our sponsors.

A discussion on the latest thinking in the move to repatriate and restitute items in our collections. More details soon.

All attendees

Come and hear about an inspirational project that supports people with addiction issues by using heritage and skills development to build confidence, resilience and self-worth. The project is based around Skylark IX, a Dunkirk Little Ship that ended its working life as a pleasure craft on Loch Lomond.

In person attendees only

Amgueddfa Cymru and the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales delivered a programme of youth-led events and activities for children and young people across Wales during the winter of 2022. Funded by the Welsh Government as part of the Winter of Wellbeing Festival, the project contributed to the wellbeing of young people, families and communities as part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A broad and dynamic programme of interventions was developed by a wide range of partners.

Join this session to hear how an ethos of embedding youth-led activities led to a range of measurable outcomes, including the development of young people’s employability skills, confidence and engagement with Welsh culture and heritage. The project evaluation identified a holistic improvement in the wellbeing of children and young people in Wales who took part. 

In person attendees only

Brunel’s SS Great Britain, the world’s first iron ship, is conserved and displayed in the historic dry dock where it was built. The most vulnerable lower parts of the original iron hull are preserved by keeping the surrounding air at 20% relative humidity to prevent corrosion. A glass “sea” at waterline level creates a seal, with dehumidifiers treating the air inside and underneath the ship. This conservation method relies on natural gas for the drying action of the dehumidifiers, and electricity for the fans circulating the air. The SS Great Britain Trust has committed to become carbon neutral by 2030, and work is underway to adapt the conservation system to meet this ambitious target.

The Ship’s Conservation Engineer role was created to bring system-level understanding and ownership of the desiccant plant in-house. Improvements to controls and instrumentation are providing new insight into the system’s behaviour, facilitating a programme of research, adaptation and optimisation. Using this information, retrofitted modifications to the plant have both directly reduced emissions and altered the heat demand of the drying system, introducing the possibility of overcoming reliance on natural gas, improving resilience to increased energy prices and taking a significant step towards carbon neutral conservation. Join this session to find out how this was achieved.

All attendees

A session from one of our conference sponsors. 

All attendees

A panel discusses the role of culturally specific community museums in the US. It looks at how the approaches and practices of these organisations have been used to shift narratives and the omission of their communities in the mainstream. This panel illuminates various ways they are producing models of racial equity for museums of today and the future. More details soon.

All attendees

Round off your conference at our closing reception at the City Art Centre. Located close to Waverley train station, the City Art Centre’s aim is to champion historic and contemporary Scottish visual and applied arts. Artworks from the centre’s Nationally Recognised collection of Scottish art are displayed on a rotating basis. 

In person attendees only

National Museums Scotland’s Ancient Egyptian collection comprises around 6,000 items, including many internationally significant objects. Delegates will be given a tour of the Ancient Egypt Rediscovered gallery by Dan Potter, assistant curator, Ancient Mediterranean.

Dan will discuss his newly launched Arts and Humanities Research Council project, Buying Power: The Business of British Archaeology and the Antiquities Market in Egypt and Sudan 1880-1939, which looks how ancient Egyptian and Sudanese objects came to be in the museum’s collections. The project focuses on several individuals who intersected the roles of excavator and dealer in British-led excavations in Egypt and Sudan 1880-1939 and explores the impact of their activities on the museum’s collections today. 

After years of planning and anticipation, the long-awaited reopening of this museum takes place in the summer of 2022. The new space utilises the museum’s extensive collection of vintage fire appliances, historical uniforms and operational equipment to take visitors on a journey exploring the early days of firefighting across Scotland through to the modern day single service.

The tour is an opportunity to learn more about the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and the role it plays in keeping the communities of Scotland safe. See how safety advice has changed over the years and find out what action you can take in your own homes and communities to stay safe, as well as hearing about the service’s innovative strategy to ensure a mentally healthy working environment for all its employees. 

Explore one of Edinburgh’s most iconic landmarks with Roz Third, visitor and monument assistant supervisor with Museums and Galleries Edinburgh. Having worked in guest-facing and team management roles for many years, Roz has a passion for team and visitor engagement and is eager to build on this within a museums and galleries environment. The Scott Monument tour will include a brief overview of the history and architecture of the monument, with references to the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott, to whom the monument is dedicated. 

This tour is limited to 12 people on a first come, first served basis. Please meet at 9.50am for a 10.00am tour. 

Perched atop Calton Hill, Nelson’s Monument was built to commemorate Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar and offers some of the best panoramic views of the city. Free entry to the monument’s viewing platform and ground floor museum is available to conference delegates arriving between 10.00am and 10.30am. This tour is self-guided and limited to 16 people on a first come, first served basis. Please show your delegate badge upon entry. 

John Giblin, Keeper of Global Arts, cultures and Design, will talk about the development of this new gallery, which has been transformed to be much more open, transparent and reflective about how material has come to be in the collections of National Museums Scotland. This includes material with colonial associations as well as contemporary collecting and Treasure Trove. 

The refreshed gallery features a wider range of voices, including displays in which the museum has worked closely with communities to tell new stories about collections, collectors and why we continue to collect today. 

In the late 1700s, this grand townhouse was at the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town development. Like so many buildings in Scotland’s capital city, the Georgian House has direct, indirect and intergenerational links to historic enslavement. Not only has it links relating to the residents of this particular home, no. 7 Charlotte Square, the house can also reveal narratives about how slavery impacted on the wealth, culture and heritage of Scotland’s capital city, and the country as a whole.

This guided tour will focus on the links of Georgian and Regency Edinburgh residents to historic enslavement. Drawing on research generated by the National Trust for Scotland’s Facing Our Past project, which has uncovered to date connections to enslavement at 49 properties, the tour will show how the trust is addressing these histories.

Dovecot Studios is a world-renowned tapestry studio and a landmark centre for contemporary art, design and textiles. The studios offer a space for quiet contemplation, promoting creativity and wellbeing. Delegates will be given a tour of the exhibition Knitwear: From Chanel to Westwood, which features more than 150 inspirational knitwear pieces from the collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield.

The show charts important designers and the influence of art movements such as Modernism, Pop and Punk, alongside new knitwear technologies and design innovation. This will be followed by a tour of the Tapestry Studio Viewing Balcony, where delegates can watch tapestry and tufted rug commissions from contemporary artists being created by Dovecot’s team of weavers and textile artists, culminating with a Q&A session with a member of the Dovecot team.

A walking tour of Edinburgh to discover the city’s deep links with Africa and the Caribbean over the past 500 years. Hear the little-known stories of Edinburgh’s many visitors and residents of African, African American and Caribbean heritage from the 16th century to the present day, with a focus on the Caribbean, and Edinburgh’s role in the transatlantic slave system.

The tour will be led by Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and honorary fellow in the department of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. The walk will take a circular route, starting and ending at the Museum of Edinburgh, where delegates will have an opportunity to see a display that Lisa worked on in partnership with Museums & Galleries Edinburgh. Comfortable footwear and warm clothing are advised. 

A walking tour of Edinburgh to discover the city’s deep links with Africa and the Caribbean over the past 500 years. Hear the little-known stories of Edinburgh’s many visitors and residents of African, African American and Caribbean heritage from the 16th century to the present day, with a focus on the Caribbean, and Edinburgh’s role in the transatlantic slave system.

The tour will be led by Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and honorary fellow in the department of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. The walk will take a circular route, starting and ending at the Museum of Edinburgh, where delegates will have an opportunity to see a display that Lisa worked on in partnership with Museums & Galleries Edinburgh. Comfortable footwear and warm clothing are advised. 

Anna MacQuarrie, history curator for Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, will discuss recent contemporary collecting projects undertaken in the city. There will be a particular focus on objects relating to experiences of lockdown and the Black Lives Matter movement, with reference to the museum service’s wider curatorial and engagement work.

A native Gaelic speaker, Anna is passionate about the place of minority languages in museums and collections and her curatorial interests are focused on material culture that reflects identity, community and social activism. There will be an accompanying tour of the Museum Collections Centre. This tour is limited to 12 delegates.

The National Mining Museum Scotland is moving towards telling the story of Scotland’s energy journey, not just coal, and will soon be opening new exhibits focusing on renewable energy and biodiversity. The museum is also embarking on new initiatives to reduce its own carbon footprint.

The tour will look at the museum’s sustainability work and its Climate Beacons project for last year’s Cop26 conference. The project aimed to create a transformative journey through the carbon cycle from Scotland’s past legacy of fossil fuels towards a future of decarbonisation, connecting local and international cultures through art and science. Delegates will also be able to explore the Lady Victoria Colliery’s Pithead and recreated underground experience. Comfortable footwear and warm clothing are advised. 

National Museums Collection Centre is a specialist care and research facility that holds the collections of National Museums Scotland, while the Granton Art Centre is Scotland’s first purpose-built art store for paintings, drawings and sculptures from the national collection. Delegates will be taken on an extensive two-part tour of these adjacent facilities.

In the National Museums Collection Centre they will find out about the institution’s invertebrate and wet collections, as well as exploring the vertebrates collection, where the institution’s large whale skeletons are kept. Delegates will also hear about National Museums Scotland’s involvement in the CryoArks Biobank project, a UK-wide zoological biobank intended to guard against biodiversity loss.

The tour of Granton Art Centre will include a presentation of the building and the community development plans for The Art Works, National Galleries Scotland’s project to create a sustainable new facility to care for and research Scotland’s national collection of art. 

Our tours programme will close at the City Art Centre, where Hannah Nugent, schools engagement officer for Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, will discuss the positive impact that gallery visits can have on the wellbeing of young people in disadvantaged communities, as well as ways to creatively engage children with the climate crisis. 

A practising abstract artist, Hannah is passionate about the positive impact that art can have on emotional wellbeing and about facilitating exciting, creative experiences for children and young people. There will be an accompanying tour of the centre’s current exhibition, Incoming: New Acquisitions at the City Art Centre.