Blood, Bones and Sinews

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This partnership brought together the worlds of art and science, engaging a wide range of partners in raising the profile of medical collections and their modern-day connections. The work clearly demonstrates the ‘added value’ gained from partnership working. The scope and scale of the touring exhibition ‘Anatomy Acts’ and the 4 accompanying regional publications could not have been achieved by the organisations alone.

• To increase public awareness of Scotland’s health/medical collections and connections
• To increase public awareness of Scotland’s significant historical and contemporary place in medical/health developments
• To improve networking and awareness within Scottish Museums of other partners in both the cultural/learning sector and the medical industries/health charities sector
• To improve skills and competence and build capacity in the Scottish Museums sector, including freelance workers
• To build sustainable networks at regional and national levels for the long term development of medical/health connections
• To raise awareness of the medical/health collections in Scotland and their potential as a unique resource in delivering learning/economic and health agendas
• To increase public understanding and engagement with health/medical issues and ethics
• To build sustainability for the Partnership beyond 2007.

The partnership successfully brought together an advisory group and curatorial expert for the touring exhibition ‘Anatomy Acts’ which toured to six venues the length and breadth of Scotland during 2006 – 2007. The exhibition found favour with public and critics alike, securing a place on the Gulbenkian Prize long-list, as did the accompanying book, Anatomy Acts: How We Come to Know Ourselves. The four regional leaflets produced allowed partners to share knowledge and pool resources and have been used for a wide range of promotional and educational activities. The website www.anatomyacts.co.uk allows a virtual tour of the exhibition , including the art and poetry commissioned as new work from Christine Borland, Joel Fisher, Claude Heath and Kathleen Jamie. Educational resources linked to the Curriculum for Excellence are available as a result of three teacher placements through the Careers Scotland Excellence in Education through Business Links programme. The partnership website www.scotlandandmedicine.com is a comprehensive directory of the museums, galleries, libraries and archives that hold medical and health-related collections. Last but not least the partnership contributed a third on-line resource www.scotlandandmedicineinprint.com to celebrate 500 years of printing in Scotland in 2007.

The focus on clear outputs and outcomes helped the partners to engage with the project and the relevance to their particular subject areas helped to sustain their interest. This led to a strong partnership which could survive the disappointment of unsuccessful grant applications to reach the final step in applying for funding through the UK Olympic Legacy Trust, for a partnership project ‘Our Sporting Body’. The final decision will be made in January 2009. This has engaged new partners and certainly meets the stated aim to build sustainability for the partnership beyond 2007.

This is an example of a partnership growing and developing over time, giving wider access to their shared collections with innovative approaches and promoting links with education, health, business, art and science.

Energetically promoted through launch events, bookmarks, leaflets and the website.

An evaluation of the first Anatomy Acts exhibition was carried out by Scotinform in 2006. A full project evaluation is currently underway.

Categories
Regional Development Challenge Fund
Partnership
Collections
Grants

Project Start
1st Apr 2007

Project End
1st Dec 2008

Published
6th Nov 2008

Who Led?
Surgeons' Hall Museum

Who else took part?

City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh College of Art, Fetlar Museum Trust, Fife Council, Highland Council, Scottish Borders Council, West Lothian Council, National Library of Scotland, University of Dundee, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, University of Glasgow, University of Aberdeen, Royal Scottish Academy, University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews
City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh College of Art, Fetlar Museum Trust, Fife Council, Highland Council, Scottish Borders Council, West Lothian Council, National Library of Scotland, University of Dundee, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, University of Glasgow, University of Aberdeen, Royal Scottish Academy, University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews

Who Paid?
Regional Development Challenge Fund

How Much?
£365,000 April 2005 – December 2008