Museum Practice

5 days ago | museumsassociation.org | Rebecca Atkinson

The City of Sanctuary UK has named a number of museums and libraries as places of sanctuary for their work welcoming and supporting migrant communities. In Scotland, Glasgow Women’s Library was recognised as the country’s first a Library of Sanctuary for its inclusive activities such as creative workshops, language support, inclusive programming, and community storytelling.

1 week ago | museumsassociation.org | Rebecca Atkinson

The John Ellerman Foundation has announced that it will no longer run a dedicated fund for museums and galleries. Launched in 2014, the John Ellerman Foundation’s museums and galleries programme offered grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 per year, for up to three years. By the time the fund celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024, it had awarded 62 grants worth £5.39m to 50 organisations.

1 week ago | museumsassociation.org | Rebecca Atkinson

The Arctic Corsair – Hull’s last surviving sidewinder trawler – is to reopen to visitors following extensive restoration next year in a new energy efficient visitor centre. North End Shipyard is part of the city’s £65m Hull Maritime project to refurbish and preserve six historic maritime sites and two historic ships. The attraction will provide a home for the Arctic Corsair and the Scotch Derrick Crane, as well as displays and a dedicated learning space for schools.

1 week ago | museumsassociation.org | Geraldine Kendall Adams

Security guards at several national museums in London have secured significant pay rises of between 13% and 23% after taking more than 50 days of strike action. Employed by the external security contractor Wilson James, workers at the Natural History Museum and Science Museum first went on strike last October in a dispute over low pay and working conditions. They were later joined by Wilson James colleagues at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

1 week ago | museumsassociation.org | Geraldine Kendall Adams

Tributes have been paid across the Scottish museum sector following the death of Geoff Palmer, the renowned scientist and human rights activist who chaired the Scottish Government’s Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums project from 2020 to 2022. Palmer, who died at the age of 85 on 12 June, was a member of the Windrush generation, arriving in Scotland from Jamaica as a teenager in 1964.