Supporting Scotland's Museums and Galleries

Discover the wide range of opportunities and support available to the sector to help deliver the strategy for Scotland’s museums and galleries.

Explore the strategy

Meet our team

An adult with medium-dark skin, braided brown hair, and a blue cardigan holds headphones to their ears while standing in front of a bright blue painting.

An adult with light skin and wavy brown hair wears white gloves and holds a small doll. They are standing between an adult with light skin and long straight blonde hair, and an adult with light skin and curly red-brown hair.

A crowd of people wearing bright colours and waving flags marches past a large stone building which features a sign reading 'Art Gallery'.

A group of adults in hard hats and hi-vis vests posing for a photo on a wooden walkway that leads to a wood roundhouse.

An adult with light skin and brown hair tied into a bun views a portrait by Maud Sulter, a Scottish artist of Ghanaian heritage, at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre. The portrait depicts an adult with medium-dark skin wearing a white wig and formal dress in the style of 18th century Western fashion.

Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) is the national development body for Scotland’s museum sector. We support 450 museums and galleries through strategic investment, advice, workforce development, and advocacy.

Museum Futures

Museum Futures is a pioneering programme of funding and support which seeks to accelerate collaboration and innovation and embed organisational sustainability across the museum sector.

This programme, which is backed by £4 million of Scottish Government funding, was developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, Museums Galleries Scotland, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A group of seven adults are standing aboard a ship. A large mast is standing tall behind them with a purple flag attached that reads 'Museum Futures'. A large grey building with an angular roof is also in the background.

448

Museums and Galleries

supported by us in Scotland

247

Accredited Museums

across Scotland meet the UK Museum Accreditation Standard

£6.5 million

In MGS Grants Funding

awarded to museums and galleries in 2025-26

51

MGS Learning Opportunities

provided to the sector in 2025-26

A modern concrete building with a wide awning. Outside the building are trees, a lawn, and shallow pools of water.

MGS calls for long-term investment in 2027-28 Budget to keep the door to culture open

MGS calls for continued investment in the sector, including a multi-year approach to funding in the Scottish Government's 2027-28 Budget.

A person with light skin tone and long dark hair is crouching over a large white cloth covered in colourful paintings.

£684k Boost for Scotland’s Museums to Strengthen Community Ties

We have awarded £684,108 to 12 museums across the country through the latest round of the Museum Development Fund. The funded projects will support museums to strengthen relationships with their local communities, improve collections care, and enhance interpretation and storytelling.

26 October, 2026

Call for proposals: Strategy Symposium 2027

Contribute your ideas and help us shape the programme of Scotland's Museums and Galleries Strategy Symposium 2027.

Price: Free
Organiser: Museums Galleries Scotland
Location: The Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh