Scotland’s oldest public museum has secured funding in the first step towards major redevelopment.
The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow says a £249,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will allow it to carry out a scoping exercise that will set out how the visitor experience and its work could be transformed.
The exercise will cover both its venues, the Hunterian Museum within the Gilbert Scott Building and the Hunterian Art Gallery, and take just over a year to complete.
The funding will allow The Hunterian to identify what is required to revitalise its ageing buildings, safeguard its important collections and serve the needs of its communities.
Invaluable
The Hunterian Museum has been open to the public since 1870, and The Hunterian Art Gallery, in the William Whitfield building, was constructed between 1973 and 1981.
Its collections span the arts, sciences and humanities and provide an invaluable academic and community resource for learning and understanding.
Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland, said: “We are very pleased that thanks to National Lottery players we are able to support this important project and invest in the future of The Hunterian collections and Scotland’s oldest public museum.
“Generations of visitors and researchers have enjoyed and learned from The Hunterian collections and this project will help to ensure they continue to provide an important and relevant resource.”
Steph Scholten, Director of The Hunterian said: “We are delighted to receive this funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to undertake this crucial foundational work.
Generations of visitors and researchers have enjoyed and learned from The Hunterian collections and this project will help to ensure they continue to provide an important and relevant resource - Caroline Clark
“When our vision is realised, our collections will be protected, displayed in revitalised, sustainable venues and will meet the needs of all of our visitors.
“We will work with our communities to give them a central role in shaping the future of The Hunterian, creating spaces where people can think critically, and can come together to both challenge and find common ground.”
At the project’s conclusion, The Hunterian will better understand the needs of its audiences and the work required to safeguard and enhance its venues, including the safe and sustainable display of its collections.
Completion of the project will allow The Hunterian to develop a future bid to fund the redevelopment work necessary to conserve and upgrade the buildings.
The scoping project, ‘Unlocking the Potential of The Hunterian: The Changing Museum’, will run throughout 2025, and the findings will be made available in Spring 2026.
