Museums Galleries Scotland

We love museums. And we think you do, too. ❤️ Museum workers tell us what inspires their work – and the one thing that museums need most. Made possible by Museum Futures, a programme of funding and support that's building the resilience of Scotland's museum sector: buff.ly/B1nRPJS

📊In this blog, our Research Manager, Heather Doherty discusses the role of our regular sector surveys and how the insights gathered help us advocate for and support museums and galleries across Scotland: buff.ly/OjabygI

💸NEWS | The Real Living Wage is increasing to £14.10 per hour of work. Museum organisations will need to implement this increase by 1st May 2027 to be eligible for MGS Grants programme funding. Read more about this story on our website: www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/news/uk-real...

📈 What’s the secret to success? (the answer is tote bags) We asked museum workers to share their wins and what they hope to achieve at their museums. Made possible by Museum Futures, a programme of funding and support that's building the resilience of Scotland's museum sector: buff.ly/B1nRPJS

🎨Our Creative Minds Fund has reopened for expressions of interest! Accredited and non-Accredited museum organisations can apply for up to £40,000 for projects that engage and support people experiencing mental health issues: buff.ly/yYoetRf

⛴️ Join Florence, our Marketing Assistant for a visit to Lismore Gaelic Heritage Centre with Lucy, our Climate and Nature Manager! Spoiler alert: this video contains coconut cake, a broch, ferry crossings and a fantastic museum with exciting plans. 🌊🍰

💬 8 museum workers. 4 conversations. One big bowl of questions about their work and the future of museums. Let’s find out what they think! Made possible by Museum Futures, a programme of funding and support that's building the resilience of Scotland's museum sector: buff.ly/B1nRPJS

🎉We are offering 15 free tickets to the AMA's Digital Marketing Day! If you work or volunteer in a role that contributes to the marketing of a museum in Scotland, you can apply for a bursary until 19th October at 10am. Find out more: bit.ly/4hxLjSS

🌈 Our work to become an LGBTQ+ inclusive organisation has been recognised with a Silver Charter Award from LGBT Youth Scotland! This award reflects our commitment to ensuring that LGBTQ+ staff, stakeholders, and community partners feel supported and included. 🔗 Find out more at: buff.ly/fjxCVhx

✨We recently revamped our Introduction to collections care Advice Guide 🔗You can find the guide here: buff.ly/UuQqllJ

🏺 Join us on October 22nd for an introduction to Scotland’s Treasure Trove and updated Code of Practice. This event will be relevant to museum workers and volunteers who respond to public enquiries, support find reporting, or apply for Treasure Trove cases. To find out more, visit: buff.ly/7HgIZsd

Following the hottest summer on record for parts of the UK, it’s clear that extreme heat is going to be a growing issue for museumsacross the country. That’s why we have developed a new Advice Guide focused on preparing your museum for extreme heat events. See the guide here: buff.ly/nqLjiX8

👏We celebrate the work of Commun Eachdrais Lios Mor researching the direct ties between local people, colonial Malawi, and Rev. Chilembwe’s uprising in 1915. We are pleased to see examples of how this recommendation is being actioned seriously and realistically by smaller museums in rural areas.

🪴Today marks the start of #ScotClimateWeek! 2025-26 has been a busy year for climate work at MGS. Growing The Scottish Museums Climate Network, providing carbon literacy training to museums across the country + funding climate action projects. 🔗Find out more in our Climate Report: buff.ly/fFloyKx

🏛️ Tomorrow our CEO Lucy Casot will be making the case for museums to the Scottish Parliament's culture committee: she'll be calling for increased, multi-year investment to ensure Scotland's museums remain open, resilient, and responsive.

🏛️ Museums are succeeding. But success should not be mistaken for security. 17% of organisations responding to our sector survey told us that a museum they care for could close within 12 months. 🔗 Our case for action is covered in today’s Herald: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2658020...

🌳 Members of our team visited the incredible Scottish Crannog Centre last week to celebrate their Oakbank Collection, which was recently recognised as a Nationally Significant Collection. At the event, our Museum Development Manager Jacob gave a talk about the development of the Recognition scheme.

📝 Discover more about the support we provide to Scotland’s museums and galleries by reading our Annual Review and Climate Report for 2025-26. To read the report, visit: buff.ly/S7HXIew

🎉We've awarded £684,108 to 12 museums through the Museum Development Fund. The funded projects will support museums to strengthen relationships with their local communities, improve collections care, and enhance interpretation and storytelling at their venues. 🔗Find out more: buff.ly/aA3OK6R

🛠️Our repair and adaptation fund is open for applications! Accredited museums can apply for up to £100k to make urgent repairs or changes to their building. Recent awardees include Scottish Fisheries Museum (pictured) who received £91k to replace the roof of their oldest building. 🔗 bit.ly/3UIGBbL

🎉 We're delighted to share that £21.5k has been awarded to 8 museums via our Delivering Change Micro Grants. The fund helps organisations address barriers to inclusion, test new approaches, and embed anti-oppression principles. Find out more 👇 www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/news/museums...

We’re thrilled that Jedburgh Castle Jail & Museum has launched an escape room experience – one of the first #MuseumFutures projects to be completed! This new escape room highlights how museums can harness their histories to raise revenue and engage with new audiences. buff.ly/DeorLR1

💬 As we move into Cycle Two of our Anti-Racism Action Plan, our CEO Lucy Casot, reflects on what Cycle One has taught us and what other organisations can take from our experience. 🔗 Full blog on our website: bit.ly/452mEPq

✍Expressions of interest are now open for our Repair and Adaptation Fund! The fund supports museums to undertake essential repairs and conservation work, while also helping them reduce their environmental impact and improve accessibility. 🔗Find out more: buff.ly/IpYrjo6

🗣️ We are delighted announce a new cohort of the Develop My Leadership programme. This an online course delivered by Social Enterprise Academy and specifically tailored to the heritage sector. 🔗https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/developing-my-leadership-2026-tickets-1992838203713?aff=oddtdtcreator

💡A year on from the launch of the Museum Futures programme, Gillian Simison, Head of Museum Development at MGS shares her reflections on the first year of the programme as well as key findings from the interim evaluation and what comes next as we move into year two. 🔗https://buff.ly/KXFRkWo

🌱 Well done to Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums for achieving Green Tourism Gold accreditation at all four of their venues! 🏆 📰 Read the full news story on our website: www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/news/green-t...

🤝 We’re pleased to welcome Rebecca Bailey and Conor Jon Ellis as new Members of our Board of Trustees! As Board Members, they will provide valuable oversight of our work and help steer the strategic direction of our organisation. 🔗 Read the full news story at: buff.ly/HhOogcu

🥳1 year of Museum Futures! Culture Secretary, Màiri McAllan joined colleagues from MGS, National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Tall Ship Glenlee today to launch the Year One evaluation report of the Museum Futures programme. 🔗Find out more in our news story: buff.ly/N95CkEl 📸Credit: Martin Shields

🎉We’re pleased to announce that £129,584 has been awarded to 12 museum organisations across the country through the latest round of our Small Grants Fund. 🔗Find out more in our news story: buff.ly/kTNZ7kY 📸: Ullapool Museum. Credit: Rob McDougall.

🎨 We were at the University of Stirling last week to celebrate one of Scotland’s newest Recognised Collections! The Art Collection managed by the University of Stirling has recently been recognised as nationally significant. Find out more about Scotland’s Recognised Collections at: buff.ly/XD5EXk7

📢 The impact report for the second year of Delivering Change is now available on our website: museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/project/delivering-change/

📸 Are you thinking about applying for our marketing photography bursary? In our latest blog post, Joe from our Marketing team highlights how museums have benefitted from previous rounds of the bursary and offers advice on how you can sharpen your own photography skills: buff.ly/nGRPdVe

⚽The world's oldest football, held at the The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum starts its journey to the United States today as part of World Cup celebrations. The museum hosted a public farewell event to celebrate the start of the football's journey to Miami. 🔗Find out more: buff.ly/cKD1dKf

🎖️ Congratulations to John McLeish, Mark Mair, and Jenny Rose-Miller, who have been recognised for their services to museums and heritage in this year's King's Birthday Honours. Read the full news story: buff.ly/6AO3zn8

🏛️ We welcome the appointment of MSPs to the Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee at #Holyrood. We regularly submit evidence about the museum sector to this Committee, and look forward to working closely with them throughout this Parliament. Read our full news story at: buff.ly/xMegbBa

Today is the start of the football World Cup, giving us an opportunity to reshare the Football Memories programme, coordinated by the Scottish Football Museum, a national programme benefiting thousands across the country by forming reminiscence groups to tackle social isolation. buff.ly/tjzT5q2

🌍 How can heritage organisations embed anti-racist practice into all areas of their work? The newly-published ‘White Thinking’ report highlights the lessons learned from anti-racism projects at heritage organisations across Scotland: buff.ly/U951ePY

We had our staff away day in Glasgow last week, at the fantastic St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life & Art. Staff participated in the Climate and Nature Planning course, and were treated to a tour of Glasgow Cathedral from Thomas, one of our Museums and Galleries Technician apprentices.

🎉We're delighted to announce £1.3 million has been awarded to 14 organisations through the latest round of Museum Futures funding. 🔗Find out more in the news story on our website: buff.ly/E5rB3Vc