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Scottish museums in £456,000 funding boost
Nine organisations to benefit from grants to strengthen community engagement
An initiative that supports museum learning in prisons is among nine projects awarded a total of £465,000 to strengthen their community engagement and widen access to cultural heritage in Scotland.
The University of Edinburgh has received £58,469 through Museums Galleries Scotland’s Museum Development Fund to develop and embed its heritage collections learning programme in Scottish prisons.
The HMP Learning Programme was co-designed and piloted with Fife College last year, and the funding will support training for facilitators of the programme sessions.
It aims to improve participants’ relationship with education, equip them with new skills and knowledge and increase their self-confidence to support their rehabilitation.
Elsewhere, West Dunbartonshire Council has received £25,535 to support the Connecting Clydebank, Communities and Culture project, which aims to connect local communities to local heritage of Clydebank and deliver learning experiences at a new museum.
“When the new Clydebank Museum opens later this year, we will not only be able to showcase Clydebank’s collections permanently in one place for the first time, but thanks to this additional funding also ensure we are offering meaningful ways for our communities to connect and engage with the unique local stories, as well as share their own,” said councillor William Rooney, convenor of corporate services at West Dunbartonshire Council.
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The other seven awardees are:
National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, which has received £60,000 to support the next phase of its Reveal and Connect project developing community-led research around South African collections. The museum will work with Iziko Museums and communities in Scotland and South Africa to develop scalable and transferable participatory practices, increasing meaningful community engagement and improving collections knowledge and management.
Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) in Edinburgh, which has received £59,514 to support its Partners Across Scotland celebrating the cultural history, presence, and influence of the RSA. The RSA will provide access to loans from its collection, allowing the Edinburgh-based collection to be seen in venues across the country.
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, which has received £43,932 to support Surgeons’ Hall Museum’s A Fair Field and No Favour project to explore and highlight the historical and current barriers women face in the field of surgery.
The Scottish Crannog Centre in Aberfeldy, which has received £58,367 to redevelopment the display of its ceramic and textile collections.
Robert Burns Ellisland Museum and Farm in Dunscore, which has received £60,000 to help diversify and expand its audiences, provide inclusive opportunities for young people and make the site more accessible to visitors. This is part of a larger project Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne, which will restore and transform the site by repairing, conserving, and adapting the buildings and outdoor spaces.
Dundee Museum of Transport, which has received £58,604 to employ a freelance curator to support the museum’s move to a Maryfield Tram Depot in 2026. The curator will support the creation of a new exhibition that celebrates Dundee's transport heritage.
Almond Valley Heritage Trust in West Lothian, which has received £32,000 for the Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry, an engaging hub that harnesses community engagement and co-creation.