Latest funding awards for Recognised Collections

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Museums Galleries Scotland has named the successful applicants to receive cash reserved for Scotland’s top collections. Just under £650,000 is being invested into raising the standards of 16 of the nation’s most important museum collections via Recognition and capital funding. The cash brings major benefits for the recipient Recognised Collections of National Significance.

Perth and Kinross Council have scooped the biggest award of £82,000 helping them to modernise Perth Museum and Art Gallery to strengthen its place amongst the city’s top cultural venues. Planned improvements include the creation of new display spaces including one that will bring for the 3,000 year old Carpow Logboat excavated in 2006 from the Tay Estuary.

The wall clocks designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in the Glasgow School of Art are regarded as being amongst his most iconic works. In creating them Mackintosh combined his own innovative design with the very latest technology. They receive £16,800 to restore and conserve the clocks and to reinstate the original electrical system.

Joanne Orr, CEO, Museums Galleries Scotland, said:
“This funding invested into our Recognised Collections ensures they are cared for and promoted to wider audiences. For a small museum this represents a major cash injection, and helps put them on a firm footing for the future. For a large museum it is a chance to do something they simply didn’t have the resources to before.”

“Modernising buildings can breathe life into how a collection is displayed. Web-based projects allow the collection to be enjoyed worldwide. These projects are not just good for the museum, but also for tourism as we are raising people’s awareness of the great experiences available in Scotland.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said:
“Museums and galleries across Scotland play a vital role in supporting tourism, the economy and local communities. These nationally significant collections are a valuable resource, educating people from home and further afield about our past, present and future.
“This funding will help museums and galleries find new and innovative ways of telling their stories, developing excellence in these internationally important collections and improving the overall experience for visitors.”

To date in 2011 £1,000,000 has been invested into Scotland’s most iconic collections via the Recognition Scheme.

There are 37 Recognised Collections open to visitors across the country from Orkney to Dumfries and Galloway. The collections are varied and the vast array of objects they contain reflect centuries of effort to gather, preserve and interpret – from beautifully crafted objects from past ages to everyday items that were integral to the daily lives of our ancestors. All are eligible to apply for Recognition funding from Museums Galleries Scotland who manage the scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government.

- ENDS –
Notes

• Managed by Museums Galleries Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, the Recognition Scheme ensures Scotland’s most important collections are identified, cared for, protected and promoted to wider audiences.
• Museums Galleries Scotland represent over 340 museums and galleries across Scotland. The sector welcomes 25 million visitors and provides £800 million in value to the Scottish economy.

LIST OF AWARDS: Full project descriptions available

Aberdeen City Council
Environmental monitoring and improved handling of the Recognised Collections / £39,988

University of Aberdeen
Increasing Access to the Natural History Collection’s / £40,000

Aberdeenshire Council
Dancing feet and busy hands – rejuvenating a redundant audio-visual theatre / £42,300

Auchindrain Trust/Urras Achadh an Droighinn
Business Development / £40,000

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
From Pathology to Museology / £36,970

Royal Scottish Academy
Liberating Space: Liberating Collections: Liberating Stories / £5,693

University of Edinburgh
St Cecilia’s Hall Redevelopment Project – Re-display & Re-Interpretation Project Masterplan / £40,000

Scottish Railway Preservation Society
Upgrading the public toilet facilities at Bo’ness Station / £17,049

University of St Andrews
Three Collections and Three Venues / £39,890

Glasgow School Of Art
Mackintosh Studio Clocks / £16,800

University of Glasgow
Resurrecting the Hunterian’s Pathology Collections / £39,113

Scottish Mining Museum Trust
Exceeding Accreditation Standards / £26,000

Scottish Maritime Museum Trust
Construction of new storage environment for toll and equipment collection / £58,410

North Lanarkshire Council
Improving the care and public access to the Industrial History Collection / £80,940

Perth & Kinross Council
Celebrating the Collections / £43,000
Securing the Future / £39,000

Almond Valley Heritage Trust
In Touch with Scotland’s Shale / £40,000

PRESS CONTACT:
Eithne Ní Chonghaile
Communications Manager (PR & Events)
Museums Galleries Scotland
Email: eithnenc@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk
Phone: 0131 550 4123

Read more about the Recognised Collections

Published
14th Jul 2011

Region
Aberdeen City & Shire
Argyll, The Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling & Trossachs
Ayrshire & Arran
Edinburgh & The Lothians
The Kingdom of Fife
Glasgow & the Clyde Valley
The Highlands
Perthshire
National

Publisher
MGS