Changing lives and engaging audiences: Scottish museums receive leading sector awards
We welcome the news that several Scottish museums have been recognised for their work on community engagement, innovation, and climate action at leading sector awards this month.
At the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award The Burrell Collection in Glasgow was named ‘Best Large Museum’, while the ‘Best Medium Museum’ accolade went to V&A Dundee. Glasgow Life Museums was shortlisted in the ‘Best Museum Youth Project: Social Justice’ category for their Intercultural Youth Group, which works with Glasgow Museums to improve representation at their venues. The project is supported by the Sustainable Co-Production Fund as part of the Delivering Change programme.
Alison Bowyer, Executive Director of Kids in Museums, said: “Congratulations to The Burrell Collection. Winning the Best Large Museum category is a tremendous achievement. It’s clear how much our undercover judges enjoyed visiting The Burrell Collection, with its excellent family activities, thoughtful facilities and family friendly café. As many museums continue to struggle with shrinking budgets it’s great to see such care and attention being paid to family audiences.”
Timespan was a winner at the Museums Association’s Museums Change Lives Awards, which celebrates outstanding work by UK museums delivering social impact. Timespan won the ‘Best Small Museum Project’ for its People’s Mobile Archive, a project which aims to tackle rural isolation, health inequalities, and cultural exclusion in East Sutherland.
Kilmartin Museum was recognised for its impressive redevelopment project and permanent exhibition at the Association for Heritage Interpretation’s AHI Engaging People Awards. The museum won in the Indoors category.
Museums and galleries across Scotland have also won awards at VisitScotland’s regional Scottish Thistle Awards this autumn. Climate Action awards were presented to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums, while HMS Unicorn, Glasgow Life Museums, and Trimontium received Innovation awards. Trimotium also received an award for Best Visitor Attraction, along with The Tall Ship Glenlee. These regional winners have been entered into the national final on November 20th.
