Dear Friends,
It’s International Museums Day, a day to celebrate in Scotland as many of our own re-open this week.
Our Museums are an extraordinary resource, a brilliant glimpse at design past and present, stories about ourselves to hold on to in tricky times. They re-open afresh, co-designing as culture hubs across the country.
As a member of ICOM, I’ve been humbled to hear stories from around the world of how Museums have managed to nourish through times of real strife, war, unrest and pandemic, dedicated professionals stepping up on behalf of their localities.
Next month we offer an introduction to our Concrete Designs to Thrive programme with a Walk by Design in Archifringe21. We’re joining forces with museum and heritage expertise in Scotland’s seven cities and reaching out to European centres on the ground from next year.
Today especially, Journeys in Design celebrates the expertise and generosity of many smaller local museums, so often staffed by enthusiastic volunteers, that form vital culture hubs in their own communities.
A big heads up then to the following for their support in our programmes past, wishing them all well as we emerge from online to real life.
In Grantown, Grantown-on-Spey Museum
In Newtonmore, Highland Folk Museum
In Kirkcaldy, Kirkcaldy Galleries
In Irvine, Scottish Maritime Museum
In Ceres, Fife Folk Museum
In Selkirk, Halliwell’s House Museum
In Lisburn, Irish Linen Centre and Museum
In Cultra, Ulster Folk Museum
I know they will heartily welcome the sound of your footsteps and your chat again so please support their wonderful work when you can.
With best wishes from all the team,
John