Museum Diary

  We are getting close to the end of the year, and also to the end of my guides for the new galleries at the National Museum of Scotland. ‘Window on the World’ isn’t really a gallery as such, but one giant exhibit in the Grand Gallery that runs across the height of all floors: The Museum’s collections offer a window on the world. It is a place where the cultures of Scotland and the world meet, where the arts and science combine and where […]

Almost done, only a few more posts to go about the new galleries at the National Museum of Scotland. Of course, the biggest gallery of all is the Grand Gallery – that light filled, glass roofed atrium space that is so unique to Edinburgh. Some still bemoan the fact that the fish ponds had to move out, but in the history of the building they were added fairly recently and if you have seen the Grand Gallery restored to its original use as an exhibition […]

Continuing with the series of guides for the new National Museum of Scotland galleries, Inspired by Nature is the other top floor atrium gallery in the World Cultures stack and sits next to Artistic Legacies: Artists and makers have always looked to nature as inspiration for their work. Depicting, imagining or celebrating nature, their works express human concerns, other worlds or the divine. While nature continues to stimulate artists, contemporary work is often a statement about human impact on the natural world. (gallery intro panel) […]

Performance and Lives is one of the first floor atrium galleries in the World Cultures block: Music, sounds and performance are important to people’s lives all over the world. Sounds and rhythm are at the centre of ceremonies and performances, from community festivals to sacred rituals. The costumes, masks and musical instruments that are part of performance reflect long long-held traditions, but also reveal how contemporary makers, musicians and performers reinterpret traditions from their own times. (gallery intro panel) The dazzling collection of masks actually […]

On the occasion of our recent trip to Edinburgh, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to continue with my remaining gallery guide for the new National Museum of Scotland galleries. I’d already covered all the Natural World galleries, but had only made a start on the World Cultures galleries, starting with Patterns of Life on the ground floor, which has quite a few interactive as it’s expected to be visited by a lot of families. Right next to it is Living Lands: Landscapes […]

Long time readers of this blog will probably know by now that, while I value a good science or history museum, natural or otherwise, I have a thing for quirky museums that cover topics off the beaten track, so to speak. You may also remember that I’m a big fan of movies, particularly old movies to be precise. So, you may begin to imagine how ecstatic I was on discovering that Vienna is home to the Third Man Museum (‘Dritte Mann Museum’), apparently the only […]