Tag: galleries

Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums

Culture Minister responds to experts’ recommendations

The recommendations of an independent group set up to advise on how Scotland’s museums and galleries can better reflect the country’s role in empire, colonialism, and historic slavery have been fully accepted by the Scottish Government.

Established following a motion in the Scottish Parliament and commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government, the Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums (ESSM) Steering Group published six recommendations in 2022, for the recognition of Scotland’s colonial and slavery history.

The recommendations include the creation of a dedicated space to address Scotland’s role in empire, colonialism and historic slavery, that museums involve the people of Scotland in shaping their work, and that the Scottish Government demonstrates support for restitution and repatriation of looted or unethically acquired items in Scottish collections.

Culture Minister Christina McKelvie said: “I warmly welcome the steering group’s report and recommendations, which we have considered very carefully.

“Following in-depth discussion with the steering group, I am pleased to confirm the Scottish Government fully accepts all six recommendations, including the creation of a dedicated space to address Scotland’s role in empire, colonialism and historic slavery.

“While budgetary pressures mean we are not currently able to commit to the group’s suggestion of £5 million for this work, the Scottish Government has provided funding of £200,000 in 2023/24 to enable the steering group and Museums Galleries Scotland to begin work addressing the recommendations, including scoping out the format of a new organisation to progress the creation of a dedicated space and national guidance around the repatriation of objects from Scottish institutions.

“The Scottish Government wants everyone to feel safe, welcome, and represented in our cultural spaces. Though we cannot change the past, it is within our power to learn from it and use that to improve the experience of all people who live, work in and visit Scotland, whilst celebrating the wide ranging and positive contributions that ethnic minority communities have made and continue to make to our society.”

Jatin Haria, elected Chair of the Steering Group and Executive Director at the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights said: “The ESSM recommendations came from widespread stakeholder involvement, including the largest national study of attitudes to museums and racism undertaken in Scotland.

“We welcome the Scottish Government’s acceptance of all six of our recommendations, as well as the acknowledgement of all the previous work that has got us to where we are today. 

“The Steering Group is determined to work with the wider museum sector to bring the recommendations to fruition.

“We understand that finances are tight, and although more will be needed, the money that the Scottish Government has committed will be useful to kick start a long term process that will finally allow Scotland to properly tell it’s story of involvement in empire, slavery and colonialism in a coherent way.

“We can’t expect to resolve the racial inequalities that persist today without a better understanding of the history which brought us to this point.”

Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said: ““MGS welcomes this significant announcement by the Scottish Government and the recognition of the importance of undertaking the work recommended by the Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums Steering Group.

“Since their publication in 2022, the recommendations have not just shaped MGS’s work, but how we work as an organisation to collectively support the sector to engage with, and tell the stories of, all of Scotland’s people.

“We are already seeing brilliant work by museums and galleries across the country collaborating with local communities impacted by the legacies of slavery and empire to create more inclusive heritage spaces.

“I am excited about the future of a museum sector that is truly inclusive, trusted and engaged with by all of Scotland’s people, and the role that MGS can play in supporting this work.” 

17th Edinburgh Art Festival draws to a close following ‘extremely successful’ return

Edinburgh Art Festival 2021 closed on Sunday 29 August, following an extremely successful return which saw the month-long programme of 35+ exhibitions programmed in partnership with the city’s visual art community secure hugely enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics alike.

Following cancellation of the 2020 edition as a result of the global pandemic, the 2021 edition returned to showcase Edinburgh’s vibrant year-round visual arts scene, with a programme which included major new commissions and premieres by leading Scottish, UK and international artists alongside support for early career artists.

Taking place at over 25 venues across the city, the programme also included a special programme of online events and presentations.

While the 17th edition of the festival has now drawn to a close, a selection of participating exhibitions across the capital continue their run into September and beyond, including the acclaimed Lessons of the Hour, from artist Isaac Julien, presented by the festival in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland – with its UK premiere continuing at Modern One until 10 October.

Sorcha Carey, Director of Edinburgh Art Festival said: ‘It felt so important to return this year, to play our part in supporting Scotland’s creative ecosystem after an exceptionally challenging time, as well as to offer a vital space for reflection, following the upheavals of the past year.

“The drive to make and enjoy art is something which, to paraphrase Frederick Douglass, is uniquely human – and as we come back together following long periods of isolation, separation, and uncertainty, it has been wonderful to cast a spotlight on this most human of activities.

“Throughout, our focus has been to find ways to safely reunite art with audiences, and while this has meant that festival venues have, of necessity, been welcoming smaller numbers of visitors, we know audiences have really valued the chance to return to galleries, to celebrate the extraordinary community of artists and freelancers on whom our creative ecosystem depends.”

Festival highlights included:

The festival-led programming featured major new commissions and presentations by leading international artists, including the UK & European premiere of Lessons of the Hour by Isaac Julien, a film celebrating the 19th century self-liberated freedom fighter Frederick Douglass, in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland; and two new festival co-commissions, with work by Sean Lynch casting a spotlight on Edinburgh’s public monuments and sculptures, in collaboration with Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop; and a sound installation by Emeka Ogboh with Talbot Rice Gallery at the Burns Monument, responding to the UK’s departure from the European Union.

This year the festival took a new approach, collaborating with Glasgow based artist, film-maker and programmer Tako Taal as Associate Artist who formed a response to the festival’s invitation to reflect on themes and ideas emerging from Isaac Julien’s work by in turn commissioning work by a new generation of artists living and working in Scotland: Chizu Anucha, Sequoia Barnes, Francis Dosoo, Thulani Rachia, Camara Taylor and Matthew Arthur Williams. 

The festival’s annual showcase supporting artists in the early stages of their careers to make and present new work returned – with Jessica Higgins, Danny Pagarani, Kirsty Russell and Isabella Widger invited to create new work for Platform: 2021 at Institut français d’Ecosse. 

Partner galleries across Edinburgh offered the chance to discover a new generation of artists, including the work of Satellite participant Alison Scott at Collective, Sekai Machache at Stills, Andrew Gannon at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and gobscure at Edinburgh Printmakers. 

Solo presentations across the capital included Christine Borland at Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Alberta Whittle and Rachel Maclean at Jupiter Artland, Frank Walter at Ingleby Gallery, Ian Hamilton Finlay at The City Art Centre, Sonia Mehra Chawla at Edinburgh Printmakers, Jock McFadyen at Dovecot Studios, a major exhibition by the artist Karla Black for the newly developed and reopened Fruitmarket and Alison Watt at Scottish National Portrait Gallery. 

This year’s edition also featured important retrospectives and major survey shows including The Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure at National Museum of
Scotland, Victoria & Albert: Our Lives in Watercolour at The Queen’s Gallery and Archie Brennan at Dovecot Studios. 

Edinburgh’s commercial galleries presented a richly diverse offering including a new group show from Arusha Gallery and Ella Walker, Shaun Fraser and Will Maclean at The Fine Art Society, Leon Morrocco at Open Eye Gallery and the centenary of the birth of Joan Eardley, marked with an extensive new show at The Scottish Gallery.

Alongside exhibitions across the capital, this year saw the return of Art Late, the festival’s celebrated evening culture-crawls across the programme featuring exhibition tours, artist talks, workshops and unique performances, now digitally reimagined to allow wider audiences to engage with the festival.

The online programme also presented a series of Artist in-conversation events, with Isaac Julien, Sean Lynch, Emeka Ogboh and Associate Artist Tako Taal and the project’s invited artists, each discussing their work – all of which can still be watched on our website through our Event Archive.

For more information, please visit www.edinburghartfestival.com or follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @EdArtFest #EdArtFest.

Phased reopening planned as museums and galleries look forward to welcoming back visitors

Collective statement from Scotland’s museums and galleries:

We warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement that museums and galleries can reopen our doors as part of the third phase of lockdown easing and we are looking forward to greeting our visitors once again.

While we are collaborating as a sector to support and share knowledge of how to best welcome back visitors, we will be reopening at varying times starting this summer and will make our individual announcements as soon as we are each able to do so.

Reopening involves individual logistical challenges which we are approaching with a focus on protecting the health and safety of our visitors and employees whilst ensuring a quality visitor experience.

We are all becoming more familiar with physical distancing and additional hygiene measures in our public spaces, and museums and galleries are similarly preparing in line with Government guidelines. 

Training will enable our dedicated teams to continue to provide excellent customer support before and during visits. We support the introduction of the UK-wide ‘We’re Good to Go’ certification in reassuring all our visitors, staff and volunteers that they can be confident of their safety.

We know that our visitors are eager to visit as soon as possible so we will be encouraging them to check our opening details online before they visit.

In many cases, temporary ticketing systems will allow the booking of timed slots to enjoy our sites and our collections.

Some museums and galleries may operate on different days or times and some may open partially so checking in advance will help visitors to prepare for any temporary experiential changes.

Some museums and galleries, including those operating seasonally or reliant on the support of volunteers, may delay reopening until they are financially and operationally able to do so. We will continue to connect digitally with our communities.   

Scotland’s museums and galleries and the collections they care for and display play a vital economic, educational and placemaking role in our rural and urban communities.

The pandemic has been challenging for all, and collectively, we would like to express our gratitude to the public for their ongoing engagement and support.  

We look forward to doing all we can to support Scotland’s recovery as soon as is safely possible, through spaces and collections that bring us together, comfort, educate, spark conversations and inspire creativity.

Museums Galleries Scotland

National Museums Scotland

The National Galleries of Scotland

Glasgow Life

V&A Dundee

Industrial Museums Scotland

What’s on at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh this October half term

Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, the collection of 13 venues and monuments across the city, are full of exhibitions, events and experiences to keep the kids entertained this half term.

From climbing the steps of ancient monuments, to catching the final weekend of a 5* art exhibition, there’s something for all interests and ages. Continue reading What’s on at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh this October half term