Get ready to dig in to the delights awaiting at a new museum for nation
The V&A Dundee is almost ready to throw open its doors and Philip Long couldn’t be more excited
&A Dundee is coming soon – the new museum is on schedule to open next year, revealing the extraordinary story of Scotland’s global importance in design. But what does this mean for the country at large? Why do we believe this museum can be an important catalyst for new creativity in schools, communities and businesses across Scotland?
Many of Scotland’s great innovations and contributions to the world are unknown or underappreciated, from the invention of waterproof fabric by Charles Macintosh in the 1820s to the creation of Grand Theft Auto, from the very first kaleidoscope by David Brewster in 1815 to pioneering work in instrument design for keyhole surgery by Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri and colleagues right here in Dundee.
The museum will be home to permanent galleries dedicated to Scotland’s historic and contemporary excellence in design, as well as holding major exhibitions, including from the V&A in London, which attract very large numbers of visitors and many tourists but which are rarely seen elsewhere in the UK.
The V&A was founded in London in the 1850s as a place to inspire creativity, with a focus on collecting superlative examples of art and design to provide inspiration to all, and especially to Britain’s manufacturers.
Now, V&A Dundee is focused on design – both Scottish and international – with a very similar aim. We want people across the country to understand the creativity that has shaped today’s Scotland, our connections to the world, and the global impact of designers both historic and contemporary.
Well before the completion of V&A Dundee we have been active across Scotland, taking these ideas into schools, colleges, universities, community centres and businesses. We have spoken to, designed with and reached tens of thousands of people, from our first project in 2014 in Dundee, Living Room for the City, to our 2015 travelling exhibition Design in Motion which visited more than 80 locations across Scotland before travelling to the V&A in London.
All of this activity has been focused on increasing people’s awareness of their own creative potential. Our Community Garden project, for instance, worked with professional designers and people living with – and recovering from – various health and wellbeing issues to jointly create a new inspiring garden space in Dundee’s regenerating waterfront.
The garden has been designed by the community, for the use of the community, but even more important than that is the very real impact the project is having on the selfconfidence and skills of the project’s participants.
Self-confidence was also central to our Schools Design Challenge, working with all of the secondary schools in Dundee and Angus. For this we drew on the expertise and mentoring of professional designers, but the pupils were the designers, tasked with creating a way of improving their schools, thinking about how they could be more inspiring.
The responses were exciting, with teams positively addressing issues relating to young people’s sense of purpose, pride and also their anxieties. Through this, all of our 1,000 participants became designers, and learned the processes required to develop creative solutions to any problem, regardless of where they may be in the curriculum.
Design is an intrinsic part of the world around us. As Scotland looks to grow its economy and close the educational attainment gap it is critical to understand that an awareness of design can provide opportunities for all.
That was also a key focus for our Schools Design Challenge – showing that design is a process that can be learned, and that it doesn’t require an ability to draw or academic excellence. We will take these ideas into companies through our Design for Business programme now in development, and we were also very proud to run the design competition for Scotland’s first Baby Box – design touches our lives at all its stages.
V&A Dundee’s mission is being supported by many organisations and individuals, including the Scottish Government, Heritage Lottery Fund,
Dundee City Council, the UK Government, Creative Scotland, trusts and foundations such as People’s Postcode Lottery, and many private individuals. We are very grateful to them all.
This week my colleagues will be showing some of these successful projects in the Scottish Parliament, meeting MSPS and their staff, and sharing our plans for V&A Dundee as Scotland’s design museum. We look forward to welcoming them, and you, to V&A Dundee when we open next year. Philip Long is Director of V&A Museum of Design Dundee. Find out more at www.vandadundee.org