The idea of a month-long celebration of museums and galleries was kicked-off in 2000 as part of the millennium festivities. The Heritage Lottery Fund coughed up about £350,000 and more than 200 grants were distributed that year. It was also the first time that museums and galleries did it together: previously there had been two separate events - Museums Week and Galleries Week.
In 2000 over 1,500 museums and galleries took part and it was deemed a success by most in the sector. This year more than 1,000 have taken part with events ranging from the Welcome Weekend to late-night opening over the weekend of 20 May and a whole range of concerts, tours of stores, a competition sponsored by Borders bookshop and special exhibitions.
But after five years perhaps now is the time to look for some fresh ideas. It's not that the events in themselves haven't been worth it, just that they might not add up to more than the sum of their parts.
There has been some good press coverage this year, particularly on the romance in the galleries theme, but journalists I spoke to complained that the disparity and number of different events organised made it hard to get a focus for a story. (This was not helped, they said, by the fact that the 'month' ended up stretching from April to June and that the website was hard to navigate.)
This year, museums in Scotland did something a bit different. They decided to concentrate all their efforts on just the May Day weekend. There was a focus on late-night opening on the Friday but museums and galleries were still free to organise their own type of event - which they did - from Muckle Suppers to film screenings and star gazing.
It was pulled together by the Scottish Museums Council, on a very small budget, and it looks to have been a great success with increased attendance, a wide range of museums taking part and some really good publicity.
The Campaign for Museums, which organises Museums and Galleries Month, will be conducting evaluation this month and there is a planning seminar for next year's event in September. This is your chance to have a say, so make sure you do.
Whatever happens, it might be that more money is needed - isn't it always - so that small museums can fully take part. The national museums also need to put their weight behind the event. Some of the nationals I spoke to seemed to think Museums and Galleries Month was more for small regional museums - although ironically some of those in the regions thought it was too London-centric.
What they all agreed on was that a shorter event with a clearer focus - along the lines of Show Scotland or the European Night of Museums - could be the way forward.
Sharon Heal, editor
sharon@museumsassociation.org
In 2000 over 1,500 museums and galleries took part and it was deemed a success by most in the sector. This year more than 1,000 have taken part with events ranging from the Welcome Weekend to late-night opening over the weekend of 20 May and a whole range of concerts, tours of stores, a competition sponsored by Borders bookshop and special exhibitions.
But after five years perhaps now is the time to look for some fresh ideas. It's not that the events in themselves haven't been worth it, just that they might not add up to more than the sum of their parts.
There has been some good press coverage this year, particularly on the romance in the galleries theme, but journalists I spoke to complained that the disparity and number of different events organised made it hard to get a focus for a story. (This was not helped, they said, by the fact that the 'month' ended up stretching from April to June and that the website was hard to navigate.)
This year, museums in Scotland did something a bit different. They decided to concentrate all their efforts on just the May Day weekend. There was a focus on late-night opening on the Friday but museums and galleries were still free to organise their own type of event - which they did - from Muckle Suppers to film screenings and star gazing.
It was pulled together by the Scottish Museums Council, on a very small budget, and it looks to have been a great success with increased attendance, a wide range of museums taking part and some really good publicity.
The Campaign for Museums, which organises Museums and Galleries Month, will be conducting evaluation this month and there is a planning seminar for next year's event in September. This is your chance to have a say, so make sure you do.
Whatever happens, it might be that more money is needed - isn't it always - so that small museums can fully take part. The national museums also need to put their weight behind the event. Some of the nationals I spoke to seemed to think Museums and Galleries Month was more for small regional museums - although ironically some of those in the regions thought it was too London-centric.
What they all agreed on was that a shorter event with a clearer focus - along the lines of Show Scotland or the European Night of Museums - could be the way forward.
Sharon Heal, editor
sharon@museumsassociation.org
