Museum bounces back with treasures
NMS to host exhibitions next year on the Galloway Hoard, the first Qwerty keyboard and wildlife photography, writes
TREASURES from the Viking age, historical typewriters and wildlife photos will feature in exhibitions at the National Museum of Scotland next year.
The Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure will run from February 19 to May 9 and will bring together the “richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland”, the museum said.
Metal detectorist Derek Mclennan uncovered the 10th-century treasure trove in a field in Dumfries and Galloway in 2014.
It was acquired by National Museums Scotland in 2017 with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Artfund, as well as a major public fundraising campaign.
Next year, the museum in Edinburgh will also host the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
This display, which will run from June 25 to October 3, will feature the recently announced winning entry by Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov of a Siberian tiger scentmarking a fir tree.
Nearly 100 other shortlisted entries from 25 countries around the world will be shown in a series of large-scale prints.
Also on the programme for next year is the exhibition The Typewriter Revolution from May 28 to September 26, which will examine the social and technological impact of the typewriter over more than 100 years.
The display will showcase National Museums Scotland’s historically significant collection of typewriters, from an 1875 Sholes and Glidden typewriter, which was the first to have a Qwerty keyboard, to the 1970s design icon, the Olivetti Valentine.
Other exhibitions on the programme include Japanese Contemporary Design from March 5 to August 15 and Sea Change: Art and Environment in Oceania from October 29 2021 to
April 17 2022, which will show contemporary responses to climate change and plastic waste by Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander artists.
The show Scotland’s Climate Challenge from September 24 2021 to March 27 2022 will use National Museums’ collections to show the evidence for rapid, dramatic climate change and its potential consequences, while Inspiring Walter Scott from August 6, 2021 to January 9, 2022 will be held to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the birth of novelist Sir Walter Scott.
Announcing the 2021 exhibition programme yesterday, Chris Breward, director of National Museums Scotland, said: “Having successfully re-opened our museums, it’s wonderful now to be able to announce an exciting programme of special exhibitions and displays for the year ahead.
“The programme reflects the wonderful diversity of our collections and our work with several of the exhibitions covering important themes. The Galloway Hoard embodies one of our core strengths as the global centre for Scottish history and archaeology.
“It is important also for us as a national museum to engage with the challenges of climate change, a key issue for our times, and we do so directly in two exhibitions next year.”
He added: “It is, of course, strange to be announcing a programme for 2021 against the backdrop of the ongoing global pandemic.
“However, while there are difficult times ahead for us all, recent developments give us cause for optimism that things will be better next year.
“Assuming that is the case, I hope this programme of exhibitions will give people reason to visit and revisit their national museum in 2021.”
The National Museum of
Scotland re-opened its doors in mid-august after being closed for five months.
Safety measures in place amid the pandemic include pre-booked timed entry, face coverings, enhanced cleaning, sneeze screens, handsanitising stations and one-way routes.