Scotland’s Museums and Galleries Strategy Symposium 2025
Jason Rose, Senior Advocacy and Public Affairs Manager at Museums Galleries Scotland, reflects on the key themes which emerged during this week’s Strategy Symposium.
There was a real buzz around the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on Wednesday, with over 200 museums and galleries colleagues catching up, making connections and exchanging views. Almost 100 tuned in online, so it’s clear there is a real appetite to learn from each other and share experiences. It’s wonderful that so many people were able to take the time to join, given how stretched everyone is with their day-to-day work. And it was great to have more than 50 Delivering Change participants as part of the audience – it’s such an important project.
The symposium also provided an excellent platform for our sector with key stakeholders. On the day we were joined by contacts in the Scottish Government, and the convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Culture Committee. They will have taken away a real flavour of the successes we are seeing but also the challenges we are facing.
We began with a welcome from our new Chair, Duncan Dornan, who spoke of the variety in our sector being a real strength. He made clear that museums and galleries large and small, from civics to independents, from arms-length to industrial and national, all have relevant experience to share.
Our keynote speaker, who joined us online, was Professor David Olusoga, the renowned historian, author, and broadcaster. His talk was full of warmth for our sector but also challenge – he acknowledged the work that has begun to address legacies of empire and slavery but that there is more to do, and that the global political winds are blowing in a direction that may make this work harder.
He spoke eloquently about his own upbringing which brought home to him the importance of museums as an educational resource for families who aren’t wealthy. He raised issues such as colonial theft, and the “standards of the time” fallacy – a convenient bit of wordsmithery, he explained, that ignores the fact that even back in the day such actions were considered wrong or illegal.
We also heard from Culture Secretary Angus Robertson, who highlighted the new £4million Culture and Heritage Capacity Fund agreed as part of the Scottish Budget for 2025-26, which he said will be available to those organisations who need it most. Our CEO Lucy Casot was able to update that work is underway with Scottish Government and our colleagues at The National Lottery Heritage Fund to establish how this fund can best be used. We will update on this as soon as we can.
The following panel discussion, chaired by Lucy, covered a wide range of issues. The points that stood out for me included a comment from Duncan that in our current age of misinformation, museums have credibility that means we can be trusted to tell accurate stories.
The role of museum boards came up, in response to the multiple directions that organisations are pulled in, and how decisive action must come from the top, with change relating to whole organisations, not just items on display.
There was a lot of applause for comments on the need for better core funding, with the view that many museums have been underfunded for many years. And further applause for a reminder that in contrast to other sectors, we have a responsibility to care for collections on behalf of society, and that responsibility should be acknowledged financially.
We then enjoyed a sequence of snappy showcases, with colleagues updating on work happening in areas such as LGBTQ+ inclusion, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Modern Apprenticeships. In one showcase, about repatriation, Professor Neil Curtis made a good point about the return of artefacts not being about things but about people.
After lunch a series of panel discussions was held, covering areas such as the current and future skills landscape, understanding climate and digitisation in museums, sustainable co-production, inclusive recruitment practice, and planning for resilience. There was also a workshop on education and principles for an anti-racist curriculum.
On skills, there was interest in how to help people progress in their museum careers, and training for volunteers.
On sustainable co-production, there were some great examples of working together to engage marginalised groups, featuring Glasgow Museum of Modern Art and the Mental Health Foundation, and Paxton House and the Edinburgh Caribbean Association.
On resilience, it was fascinating to hear how the Scottish Maritime Museum has steered a new course to become a much-loved local institution with strong community connections, and how the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney is looking at adapting its offer to reflect changes in the wider community.
As our Chair stated at the start of the day, museums and galleries are at their best when they connect with their audiences. The same is true for MGS. Events such as the symposium help ensure we are in tune with the sector’s needs. The input we received from everyone taking part will help us have the best evidence to take to decision-makers.
From the buzz around the venue, it’s clear that these conversations will continue, and I’m sure there will be more inspiring stories to tell when we meet up again next year.
