In brief | Latest on moves, awards, capital projects and more

Digital tool to help Burrell Collection reach net zero

The climate tech firm IES has created a live Digital Twin of Glasgow’s Pollok Park and its buildings, including the Burrell Collection, to support the city’s commitment to becoming net zero by 2030.

The technology helps to identify how and where energy is used and generated across the historic estate in order to mitigate emissions. The digital asset models all of the park’s infrastructure, including Pollok House, the Burrell Collection, the Stables Courtyard buildings, Knowehead Lodge and the Police Dog Pound.

The digital twin will help make Pollok Country Park energy independent, generating heat and energy locally. Modelling has so far shown that planned improvements to the park’s buildings will reduce carbon emissions by up to 34%. By using the digital twin to model future scenarios, IES has also found that the site could reach net zero carbon by using battery storage, additional renewables, heat pumps, and interconnecting all the buildings’ heat and electrical networks. A hydro-electric turbine will be re-installed to generate electricity from the river to power the courtyard buildings.

Heather Peak joins Dash as CEO and artistic director  

Dash, the Disabled-led visual arts organisation, has appointed the artist Heather Peak as its new artistic director and CEO after the retirement of longstanding artistic director Mike Layward. As an artist with an international profile, Heather is best known for her work as one half of artist duo Heather Peak and Ivan Morison. Heather will continue to pursue a personal artistic practice alongside her work leading and developing Dash.

Under Peak’s leadership, and with increased investment from Arts Council England over the next three years, Dash plans to step up its efforts to tackle the causes and symptoms of the systemic inequality and under-representation of disabled people in the arts and creative industries. Amongst the organisation’s areas of work, this year sees the return of the Future Curators Programme, in which Newlyn Art Gallery & Exchange in Cornwall, John Hansard Gallery in Southampton, Arts Catalyst in Sheffield, Mima in Teeside, Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge and Midland Arts Centre in Birmingham, will appoint a disabled curator for a one-year residency programme.

Fundraising boost for Beamish Museum

Beamish, The Living Museum of the North in Country Durham has received £225,000 towards its Remaking Beamish redevelopment project from the Friends of Beamish and Business Friends of Beamish. The redevelopment is currently underway and includes a 1950s town and farm, and expansion of the Georgian Landscape. The Friends group has now donated more than £2.1m to Beamish since the group was established in 1968, and has supported a range of projects at the museum including Hetton Band Hall, St Helen’s Church and Davy’s fish and chip shop tiles.

Rhiannon Hiles, Beamish Museum’s chief executive, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Friends of Beamish members for their amazing support for the museum.

“To have donated more than £2.1million to the museum over the past 55 years, as well as the time given by Friends’ volunteers, is truly remarkable and we are extremely thankful – Beamish wouldn’t be where it is today without them.”

New director for Tate Modern

Karin Hindsbo, the director of Oslo’s National Museum, has been appointed the new director of Tate Modern, replacing outgoing head Frances Morris. Hindsbo has been director of the National Museum since 2017.

The Norwegian institution was created under her leadership, during which she finalised the consolidation of the former National Gallery, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Architecture, and National Touring Exhibitions. The new museum she and her staff developed was opened in June 2022 in a new building. The museum cares for a collection of 400,000 items, making it the largest in the Nordic countries.

Before taking on her current role in Oslo, Hindsbo worked as director of several art institutions and museums in Norway and Denmark. Hindsbo said: “I am beyond excited to join the skilled staff and to be a part of the whole Tate organisation. Tate Modern has always been a special place for me and I have had some of my greatest experiences encountering art there. I am eager to continue the magnificent work being done, creating a unique and inspiring museum for a wide and diverse audience.”

Karin Hindsbo will step down from her current role this summer and will begin as director of Tate Modern in September 2023.

Whittingdale returns to DCMS

Former culture secretary John Whittingdale is to act as minister of state for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), temporarily replacing DCMS and DSIT minister Julia Lopez, and DSIT secretary of state Michelle Donelan while they are on maternity leave. Whittingdale was previously appointed minister for media and data in DCMS in February 2020, and was previously secretary of state for culture, media and sport from May 2015 to July 2016.

Deadline approaches for Kids in Museums Award applications

The 5 June deadline is approaching for museums, galleries, archives and heritage sites to put themselves forward for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2023.

The annual award, which is judged by families, celebrates the heritage sites that are most welcoming, accessible and fun for all ages. Museums can apply for up to three award categories: one size category (either Best Small, Medium or Large Museum depending on museum visitor numbers), Best Accessible Museum and Best Youth Project – Climate. The new award category recognises innovative and thoughtful projects that are engaging young people with the climate emergency and sustainability through museums. It will be open to museum applications only and judged by an expert panel. The remaining categories are open to nominations from the public.

In 2022, families rated the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield as the best for families in the UK.

Kids in Museums is also due to host a Museum Youth Summit at Thinktank in Birmingham this week. The event, which is being led and planned by the Kids in Museums Youth Panel, takes place on 12 May.

Leighton House makes urgent fundraising appeal

A public fundraising campaign is seeking to raise £50,000 towards the cost of acquiring In My Studio (1893) for permanent display at Leighton House. The painting by the Victorian artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) was gifted to his friend and fellow artist, Frederic Leighton. It is currently on a special loan, hung in the museum’s Silk Room, in the exact location Leighton chose for it.

The Art Fund has offered Leighton House a grant of £350,000 towards the acquisition, in recognition of the museum’s ongoing efforts to recover Leighton’s original collection, dispersed after his death in 1896. The museum has also applied to the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the public campaign is seeking additional funds to raise £50,000 to contribute to the total cost of the artwork, $1,008,000. The campaign closes on 10 May.