What's it all about!
Future Museum is a partnership between East Ayrshire Council,
Dumfries and Galloway Council, North Ayrshire Council, South
Ayrshire Council and the independent museums of the south-west of
Scotland. The project has been funded by the Regional Development
Challenge Fund which is funded by the Scottish Executive and
administered by the Scottish Museums Council on its behalf.
The main focus of the project is to provide free access to the
museum collections through the dynamic future museum.co.uk website.
Each year a touring exhibition will also be developed, which will
support a key theme of the site and travel across the region.
What we want to do
The Future Museum project aims to maximise access to museum and
gallery collections and deepen people's understanding of the
history of the region through the website.
We also aim to enhance productivity and collaboration between
the museum partners via increasing the number of joint exhibitions
and events in the region. This will result in a series of new
touring exhibitions being developed each year that focuses on a key
theme from the website.
Future Museum targets the needs of lifelong learners and all
those interested in exploring the history and heritage of the area.
The project team actively seek comment, opinions, memories and
information about the region that can inform the future development
of the site.
Each year we aim to digitise approximately 3,000 objects, which
will then be added to the site and add to our rich digital
resource.
And finally, we hope that after having seen the website, you'll
want to visit the museums of the south-west. Have a look at the
partner museum section to see where we are!
A quick history of the region
The south-west of Scotland is defined both by its geography - it
is defined by the coast, the English border and the M74 - and the
diverse spectrum of historical themes. The meeting point of Scots,
Gaels, Angles, Vikings and Britons has meant an eventful chronology
and an intriguing amalgamation of language, customs and place
names.
In later years, the south-west has produced a number of pioneers
in various fields, as well as several national heroes. Many aspects
of industry and craft are represented, including mining,
engineering and textiles and some are unique to the south-west:
Ayrshire white work; Mauchline Ware; Cumnock pottery; and Dumfries
silverware to name a few.
The south-west of Scotland is also well known for its
contribution to artistic endeavour, with many influential artists
having their roots in the region as well as several areas being
home to artistic communities such as Kirkcudbright.
The vast possibilities of topics for the south west has meant
that only information on key subjects can be produced at present,
but as the project progresses these will be both developed and
added to.
