V&A Dundee is really unpopular on Tripadvisor – I went to find out why

The V&A Dundee is significantly less popular among Tripadvisor reviewers than static statues of Oor Wullie and those cool wee penguins by the Auld Steeple. What the hell are we going to do about this?

Because it is our problem.

The V&A building is on cooncil property. We own the land and the V&A Dundee operate their museum from our premises.

If the museum aspect fails, we’ll be stuck with a big weird building with no defined purpose on the waterfront.

What on earth would we do with it? Maybe the cooncil could end up using it as grit storage ahead of winter. Or maybe they could seal the doors and windaes, fill it to the brim with chlorinated water and make it the replacement Olympia while the other ane’s shut.

I set up a chat with the head of audience and brand at the V&A to see how it feels to lie so lowly in the rankings.

But I also wanted to bring some positivity to this chat, so I went to the maist popular attraction in Dundee on Tripadvisor: the Dundee Museum of Transport.

Maybe we could steal their successful ideas to improve the V&A. Reviewers love the Transport Museum. Just in April alone it boasts a rash of fivestar reviews, mostly from English folk up in Dundee for the first time.

At the entrance I was warmly welcomed. Two enthusiastic local volunteers – Alex and Ewan – got me sorted with the right ticket, asked what my interests were so they could direct me and shared a few of their personal highlights of the museum.

The exhibitions were excellent. There was heavy nostalgia at play, with antique Dundee buses (boring, I hate buses) and 1950s tractors (extremely fun and cool, I love tractors).

There were surprises, like the bicycle with a sidecar or the wee Sinclair C5.

And then there was just impressive machinery, like the motorbikes and supercars.

Every now and again on the daunder round you bump into another enthused volunteer who gets you laughing with some story, or draws your eye to some little detail you’ve missed.

It’s an outstanding visit.

If I had to bullet-point their successes I’d say:

There’s a very clear purpose – it’s a transport museum and has vehicles old and new in it.

It’s a tremendously human visit: folk there love a chat.

The displays are packed; every neuk and crannie has something interesting tucked into it.

It’s not too dear.

So after my visit to the Museum of Transport, I got a chat on the phone with Claire, the head of brand and audience at V&A Dundee.

Claire is very polite. She was also pretty reluctant to show much of herself.

The first few minutes of the call had the vibe of a press release.

“We have many programmes in place in communities across the city… we have lots of exciting activities coming up… we’ve expanded into the area around the V&A… the V&A helps the restaurateurs and pubs in the area…”

I chided her for that.

The robotic, corporate tone of the V&A always gets my back up.

Be human, I said.

“My instinct is to hide myself away,” she apologised.

“Maybe that’s wrong of me.” Claire’s worked in London for 20 years and this is her first job in Scotland.

There probably is a significant cultural gap between the audiences there and here.

But Claire was clearly very bright and capable. And her personality and passion emerged into the limelight when I asked why it

Talent and time will get the V&A up the rankings

was worthwhile having a design museum at all.

“As a child I was always mad about drawing and creativity…” she told me.

“I was very quiet, within my family and I found solace in making and creating and painting.

“And that process was so important for me and I think it’s so important for so many people – drawing, knitting, jewellery – I think that’s so transformative for people.

“Our solutions for the future will all come through design,” she went on.

“How we design plastic better. How we design energy production better.

“I feel the V&A has the potential to capture people’s imaginations for that and help people explore that in Dundee.”

After that wee insight into her life, into Claire the quiet young lassie finding peace – then finding a long and successful career – in creativity and design, I felt won over. She really cares about this stuff.

She cares as much about design and encouraging everyone to tap into their own creativity, as the lads at the Museum of Transport care about their military vehicles day and their rare Australian model VW Beetle.

And if we havnae seen the human side of the V&A Dundee yet, there are maybe mitigating factors.

“The pandemic has cloistered everyone away,” Claire told me.

“We do work in communities and we try and work as widely as possible. We’ll be doing much more, getting back into schools now we can.

“It takes some time to settle down. Getting established, understanding our context, understanding our neighbours, understanding what people actually want from us and feeding that back into the design process.

“It’s got all the ingredients for it (to be a real success).”

I think Claire’s right: this will take time. It’s a minter that the massive and expensive flagship museum is slated on Tripadvisor.

But it’s a temporary shame.

As Dundee, Angus, Fife, and Perth and Kinross get used to this foreign body in our midst – and as the bright folk at the helm of the V&A Dundee get their chance to really develop the organisation – it will merge with the fabric of the area and become as much a part of us as the Rep Theatre, or Tannadice, or the excellent Museum of Transport.

Talent and time will get the V&A up the rankings and closer to being accepted as “ours”.

UP-AND-COMING: The V&A Dundee will merge with the fabric of the area in time.