Scottish museum to undergo 'bold transformation' after £2.6m government funding boost

Staff at the V&A Museum in Dundee are understood to be looking at ways to increase space for the facility’s exhibition on UK design following the pay out from the UK Government.

The UK Government cash was announced on Monday and will be used to expand the facility’s exhibit on Scottish design.

The funding was announced by the previous UK government but was put under review by the new administration in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget in October.

V&A Dundee director Leonie Bell said: “We are delighted the UK Government has confirmed £2.6 million of funding for V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum, to undertake a bold transformation of the Scottish Design Galleries that will bring design to life for visitors, enabling even more people to engage with Scotland’s innovative design history and its continuing influence around the world.

“V&A Dundee is an incredible resource for people living in Dundee and Scotland, drawing visitors to the region, championing design and designers and helping to change the face of the city and contributing to economic, cultural and social growth.

“This new funding means we can expand the story of design from Scotland and celebrate the worldwide influence of Scottish design and designers, further enhancing the visitor experience at V&A Dundee.”

Scottish secretary Ian Murray said the allocation was a “real vote of confidence” in the museum, which opened 2018.

He said: “We had to analyse everything, because the previous government made a lot of promises to places like Dundee without any funding attached.

“So, we’ve had to make some very difficult decisions in the budget that are well documented in order for us to be able to fund the promises that had been made by the previous government.

“But there’s three things that fall from that. One is it’s a real vote of confidence in the city of Dundee, a real vote of confidence in the V&A and what it has achieved, not just for the museum itself, but for the wider area, that catalyst for regeneration.

“But the third thing is it’s also a real celebration of Scottish culture, Scottish heritage and Scottish design and that’s all driven by the real quality of the management and the people driving curation here at the V&A.”