This autumn saw the launch of a new charitable organisation created to support the heritage sector in the north of Scotland. Museums and Heritage Highland aims to be a voice for the Highland heritage sector, supporting its members in a range of areas including advocacy, sustainability, audience and workforce development, collections care and collaboration. MHH launches at the recently relocated Gairloch Museums and they were joined at the opening by around 40 people representing over 20 different organisations.
The new organisation evolved from the existing Highland Museums Forum (HMF) in response to the 2017/18 ‘Our Collective Future’ project, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland and Heritage Lottery Fund. This partnership project included nineteen independent museums from across the Highlands and aimed to address the challenge of funding reduction by finding ways to increase the economic sustainability and future resilience for the sector.
Development Manager Helen Avenell said,
“The heritage sector in the Highlands faces particular challenges and opportunities and the creation of MHH is a response to the growing need for us to work collaboratively with additional support. We hope that Museums and Heritage Highland can develop opportunities to capitalise on collective strengths and skills to build capacity, increasing the profile of Highland heritage and developing a strong advocacy voice for our members.”