Visitors at Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum Photo by Andy Phillipson
Museums Galleries Scotland has awarded £421,857 to nine museums in the latest round of grants from the Museum Development Fund.
The scheme supports Accredited museums in Scotland to respond to different challenges and needs in their local community, increase financial resilience, strengthen connections with their local area, and attract national and international visitors.
The grants will fund a variety of projects, including an anniversary exhibition at Paxton House, digitising natural history collections in Inverclyde and a project at North Lankashire’s Museums & Collections to connect with local communities impacted by the legacies of slavery and empire.
Lucy Casot, the CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, said: “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 and visual arts manager at North Lanarkshire Council, said: “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 reinterpret 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.”
Annan Museum, Dumfries
The £50,000 grant will enable the Dumfries and Galloway Council to hire a new member of staff to support the redevelopment of Annan Museum’s host building complex this year.
David Livingstone Birthplace, South Lanarkshire
The team has received £41,000 to create activities and events that connect the life of David Livingstone to nature. The project will help the local community make the most of the 26 acres of parkland that surround the museum.
Historylinks Museum, Sutherland
The museum will use the £42,238 to develop its new People’s Gallery. The local community, schools and clubs will collaborate with Historylinks Museum to create displays that tell the stories of ordinary people who contributed to the local town Dornoch’s history.
Kilmartin Museum, Argyll and Bute
An artefact from the Kilmartin Museum Collections Photo by John Blower
The £44,542 grant will fund temporary exhibitions and the opening of the newly built collections store. These changes will help visitors engage with more of the museum’s 22,000 archaeological artefacts.
McLean Museum, Renfrewshire
Inverclyde Council will use the £54,000 grant to modernise the Natural Sciences collection in the McLean Museum. The collection will be digitised to make it accessible to different audiences, and displays will focus more on climate change and local wildlife.
Museum nan Eilean, Outer Hebrides
The museum has received a £20,077 grant to host an Emigration Conference. This event will support interest in the history of the Outer Hebrides and connect both local and international audiences.
North Lanarkshire’s Museums & Collections, North Lanarkshire
The £60,000 grant will support a project in which the museum will work with the University of Glasgow and with people in the local community who have lived experience of the impacts of empire. The museum will redevelop their collections to shed more light on these areas of history.
Paxton House, Berwickshire
The museum has received £30,000 to celebrate its 250th anniversary with an exhibition showcasing its collection of Chippendale furniture. The money will also be spent training staff to support visitors with access requirements.
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirlingshire
The £30,000 grant will help launch a new schools programme to reconnect children and young people with the museum.
