New director appointed to lead V&A Dundee’s ‘awakening’
IT is the architectural masterpiece that has helped regenerate a waterfront and spark a massive tourism boom in one of Scotland’s neglected corners.
Now V&A Dundee has appointed a new director to lead its “awakening” from lockdown into a new era.
Leonie Bell takes over from founding director Philip Long, who left the design museum to become chief executive of the National Trust for Scotland.
Ms Bell is currently strategic lead for the Future Paisley Partnership at Renfrewshire Council, heading its cultural regeneration plans following its UK City of Culture bid.
Her previous roles include programme director at The Lighthouse in Glasgow, as well as head of culture strategy and engagement at the Scottish Government and director of arts and engagement at Creative Scotland.
Ms Bell will take up her new post in Dundee in the autumn and has also led Scotland’s national cultural programmes for the London 2012 Olympics and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She chairs the advisory board of Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and is a trustee of the Edinburgh International Festival.
Ms Bell said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed director of V&A Dundee. I am looking forward to working with the board, the team, the museum’s partners and the people of Dundee to further establish V&A Dundee as a world-class design museum for Scotland.
“Like so many, I have watched V&A Dundee flourish in its first two years and it is a huge privilege to lead the museum into its next phase.
“It is an emblem of the city’s design and industrial heritage and a bright beacon for its future. The spectacular building is situated on one of the most beautiful estuaries and in one of UK’S most ambitious and creative cities.
“The museum celebrates the designed world and through its programme it enriches and inspires, drawing people in and reaching out across Dundee, Scotland and the world.
“Its role now is greater than ever. The way we live, work, gather, communicate, share, learn and play is changing.”
Tim Allan, chairman of V&A Dundee’s board, said: “We are delighted Leonie has accepted this leading role at V&A Dundee, leading its awakening from the Covid-19 lockdown into a new era. She is a very experienced, charismatic leader with a passionate background in design and what it can do for communities and places as well as enhancing our position in the world.
“Leonie was born in Dundee and grew up in nearby Fife. She has real authenticity, knowledge, energy and understanding of the museum, its importance to Dundee and Scotland, and of the cultural sector in Scotland and the UK.”
The imposing and futuristic museum, designed by the Japanese architect of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, is proving its worth beyond its eye-catching, curved, stone panel design inspired by the cliffs on Scotland’s north-eastern coastline.
Scotland’s answer to the original V&A in London, named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert gave a
£75 million boost to the national economy in its first year of opening.
It opened on September 15, 2018 and welcomed one million visitors in its first 500 days.
Independent research found that visitors to the museum were worth £21m to the Dundee economy and even more to the Scottish economy in the 12 months from its opening.
It far exceeded the predicted impacts of £10m in Dundee and £23m across Scotland, boosted both by a significant increase in visitor numbers – 833,015 compared to a predicted 500,000 – and a higher proportion of overseas visitors on longer trips around Scotland.
Designed by Kengo Kuma, city leaders had hoped the museum would create a similar economic boost as the Guggenheim Bilbao, which opened in 1997 and took the Basque city from a tourist backwater to a major draw for about 1.75 million visitors annually.
The architect said he wanted the £80m V&A Dundee to be “a new living room for the city”.
It has an entrance hall, learning centre, auditorium, temporary exhibition galleries and the permanent Scottish Design Galleries.
The independent study, conducted by Ekosgen and Reference Economic Consultants and commissioned by V&A Dundee, also found the museum supported the equivalent of 696 jobs in Dundee and 2,143 across Scotland.
An estimated additional 370 jobs have been created in Dundee by the museum opening.
In addition, the construction of the building had a further economic impact of £70 million across Scotland, helping to support 7,037 jobs.
Tourism in Dundee is now worth more than £10 million a month to the city, according to research commissioned by Dundee City Council, with the first six months of 2019 seeing a 19.4% boost to visitor numbers.
Officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in January 2019, the museum was built out into the
River Tay, with a “prow” jutting over the water like a boat, recalling the shipbuilding heritage of the city.
The original V&A has 145 galleries with more than two million objects and covers 5.1 hectares (12.5 acres).
The Dundee V&A has a floor area of 8,500 square metres (2.1 acres) and includes a main hall, learning centre, auditorium, temporary exhibition galleries and the permanent Scottish Design Galleries.
Over one in three of the museum visitors were from Dundee and Tayside, with 42% from the rest of Scotland, just
She is a very experienced, charismatic leader
under one in seven from the rest of the UK and 10% from overseas.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “I congratulate Leonie Bell on her appointment as director. She brings excellent cultural leadership to V&A Dundee in its next phase of development and the Scottish Government looks forward to working with her.”