TWO out of five UK winners of the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year named from north of the border
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “I was thrilled to hear that not one but two Scottish venues had been chosen amongst the five winners of the Art Fund’s prestigious Museum Of The Year prize.
“Although very different in their cultural offerings, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Gairloch Museum are equally deserving of this accolade, having both made huge efforts to demonstrate – for the purposes of this award – that their work over the previous year has stood out way beyond that of their competitors.
“At the heart of Gairloch Museum’s relocation and reopening has been a huge community effort from a fantastic volunteer base, to successfully secure £2.4m in funding to redevelop and transform a derelict military bunker into such a fantastic new visitor attraction. For such a small community, this is inspirational.
“Aberdeen Art Gallery reopened in November following its ambitious £34.6m redevelopment. It is not only a beautiful building and world-class arts complex but also an exciting visitor destination, blending the historic with the contemporary.
“I would like to personally congratulate both venues for shining a spotlight on and further strengthening the cultural offering for visitors to Scotland during what has been a hugely challenging year for the tourism industry”
