For the second year running, Culture24 are delighted to work together with the team from Museums Galleries Scotland, who coordinate the Festival of Museums north of the border.
This takes place over 18-20 May 2012, the same weekend as Museums at Night across the UK, and Nuit des Musées across Europe – so by collaborating we can reinforce the message that wherever you are, this weekend is the perfect time to visit a museum, gallery or heritage site.
Culture24 and the Festival of Museums share data with each other, meaning that all event listings are seen by a much wider audience.
If you’re from a Scottish venue and you register details of a daytime Festival of Museums event, it will appear in Culture24’s event listings too. If your event takes place in the evening, it will also be double-branded as a Museums at Night event – bringing you even more publicity!
The Festival of Museums - and Museums at Night - give everyone the chance to discover the fantastic culture and heritage on their doorstep. Image courtesy Museums Galleries Scotland
Festival of Museums grants scheme now open
The next Festival of Museums will take place 18, 19 and 20 May 2012 and all museums and galleries in Scotland are invited to get involved.
Once more, Museums Galleries Scotland are offering grants between £150 and £1500 per venue to stage an event as part of the Festival of Museums programme.
Applications where non-member organisations are working in partnership with full members are also welcomed.
Submissions are being accepted from 1 November until 1 February 2012; however, as grants are assessed on a first-come-first-served basis, getting an application in early is advisable.
Festival of Museums is one annual weekend (Friday to Sunday) of exciting, entertaining and surprising events in the country’s museums and galleries, with museums tailoring events to their own requirements, objectives and audience development criteria.
Museums Galleries Scotland supports the Festival with a national and regional promotional campaign, while strengthening the publicity work done by the museums themselves and offering advice and funding to the museums taking part.
The inaugural Festival of Museums event in 2011 saw 70 museums and galleries holding day and night time events across the country. The eclectic programme included concerts, fashion shows and workshops and attracted almost 20,000 visitors – a third of whom were on their first visit to their chosen venue.
Museums Galleries Scotland work with Culture24’s Museums at Night and the Europe-wide celebration, La Nuit des Musées. These events are all timed to take place over the same weekend, making Festival of Museums part of a Europe wide celebration of the fantastic experiences that museums and galleries have to offer visitors.
For more information on the Festival of Museums programme and grants scheme visit http://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/the-programmes/festival-of-museums/.
You can download information about taking part in the Festival of Museums here, and download Festival of Museums case studies here from the Museum of the University of St Andrews, the Scottish Fisheries Museum, and Timespan.
To receive regular updates from the Festival of Museums, you can follow them on Twitter @FestofMuseums and connect with them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/FestivalofMuseums.
Museums at Night Blog 