Remember thisHomepage selector what is this?
Museums Galleries Scotland
Welcome
This page on our website has been designed to give information to those Scottish museums interested in becoming a member of Museums Galleries Scotland. Our role is to offer funding, development and advocacy advice to our membership of over 340 museums throughout the country. Current members include local authority, university, regimental and independent museums.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the website, please contact our Membership Development Manager who will be able to help.
Becoming a member
In order to become a member of Museums Galleries Scotland, you must first be a museum under the Museums Association definition, which is:
'Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.'
You must hold a collection, or have a collection planned.
Secondly, you must be a Scottish organisation and have charitable status.
If you are not yet a museum, see our publication 'Big Questions Big Answers' which can be found to the right of this page and is a good starting point for those wishing to set up a museum.
To find out more about becoming a member and the processes involved, visit our Become a member pages.
How we support members
As a member you will have access to a range of benefits depending on your level of membership – Associate member or Full member. To find out more about the levels of membership available and what is required, visit our Become a member section.
We can offer members support in the following areas:
- Professional advice from ourselves or our partner organisations
- Support in working towards Accreditation
- Networking opportunities
- Preferential access to our training courses
- Access to sector research and publications
- Advocacy on behalf of the sector
- Funding
For the full range of benefits, visit our How we help members section.
Case Studies
Are you looking into forming or developing a new museum? Big questions Big answers is a publication we have produced to explore the issues faced and give advice and guidance on where to start.
Other Organisations
If you are not yet a member of Museums Galleries Scotland and are looking for help or advice on issues, the following organisations may be able to help, depending on your circumstances.
The Office of Scottish Charity Regulators (OSCR)
www.oscr.org.uk
Information on becoming a registered Scottish charity.
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
www.scvo.org.uk
Resources for volunteer-run organisations.
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
www.hlf.org.uk
Funding for heritage based projects. This may be of interest if you are looking to set up a museum.
Association of Independent Museums
www.aim-museums.co.uk
Information for independent museums.
Arts & Business
www.AandB.org.uk
Making the link between arts organisations and businesses.
There are many other organisations mentioned throughout our site who may also be able to offer support.