Scotland’s Cold War
National Museums Scotland is launching an ambitious exhibition to highlight the Scottish contribution to the decades-long nuclear standoff between East and West
National Museums Scotland (NMS) is one of the leading museum groups in the UK and Europe and looks after collections of national and international importance. Some of its individual museums include the National Museum of Scotland, National Museum of Flight and the National War Museum.
The NMS has recently been awarded a grant by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) with the University of Stirling to conduct a £1 million research project exploring how the Cold War features in British and European museums. This is the largest grant ever awarded to the NMS and the threeyear project, entitled Materialising The Cold War, will culminate in a major exhibition about Scotland’s Cold War.
Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in a climate of international tension, the Cold War is more relevant than ever. Despite its significance, it is a difficult story to tell in museums because it didn’t escalate to the point of direct confrontation. Materialising The Cold War aims to change that by analysing museum collections and displays across the UK and Europe. This will cover everything from military and social history to technology, art and design with the aim of understanding the Cold War in a specific national context.
The exhibition will be accompanied by schools programming, publications and activity to support the museum sector in engaging new audiences with this period of history. In addition to weapons technology, the project will examine peace and protest material, civil defence collections and Cold War culture. This will collectively explore the material legacies of the relationship between society, technology and the military.
Dr Chris Breward, Director of the NMS, says: “The Cold War casts a significant shadow over the second half of the 20th century, yet the intangible nature of this period of geopolitical tension makes it difficult to convey in museums. This generous grant from the AHRC will allow us to work with partners across the UK and Europe to conduct in-depth research into the representation of the Cold War in museum collections. Among a number of exciting outputs will be the first exhibition to tell the full story of Scotland’s place in this extraordinary conflict.”
Professor Judith Phillips, Deputy Principal for Research at the University of Stirling, adds: “This is a significant grant and as such recognises the leading expertise of our academics in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. It marks the start of an important partnership and will explore a fascinating time in world history which has helped shaped lives today.”