museums

A Taste of Highland Heritage – Museum of the Highlands

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A Taste of Highland Heritage – Museum of the Highlands

Freya Samuel, Digital Learning & Interpretation Specialist, highlights a selection of objects showcased on the new Museum of the Highlands digital learning hub.

Over the last year, I have worked with fifteen incredible collections across the Highlands on the new digital learning hub ‘Museum of the Highlands’. The platform brings together around 350 objects from these collections into an immersive digital experience supported by a suite of exciting learning activities for schools.

A big part of this project has been drawing out the stories of people and places found within objects. The objects almost act as a vessel through which captivating stories of Highland history can be told. Before the big launch, I wanted to share a taster of some of the amazing objects that you will find. 

Making a spectacle out of spectacles

Although these unassuming tortoiseshell glasses may not look special, they have quite the story to tell. They are said to have belonged to Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, (1667 – 1747). Chief of Clan Fraser, he was a Jacobite nicknamed the ‘Old Fox’ for his double dealings, violent feuds, and changes of allegiance.

Lovat was convicted of treason for his part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. His punishment was commuted to beheading. On 9 April 1747, he was the last person publicly executed on Tower Hill, London. 

Such a crowd gathered for his execution that a stand holding spectators collapsed and killed nine people. Lovat was so amused by the incident that legend has it that this is where the origin of the phrase ‘laughing your head off’ comes from – quite the spectacle! 

Korean connections in Balintore

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This beautiful porcelain vase reveals the unexpected links between the Seaboard village of Balintore, and South Korea. 

In 1872, thirty-year-old Christian missionary, John Ross, was sent to northeast China. He founded the Dongguan Church in Shenyang and became acquainted with traders from Korea. Ross is a very important figure to modern-day Christians in South Korea, and the John Ross Centre, a key part of the history of the Seaboard villages, was funded by a South Korean Christian group. 

This rare chinaware vase commemorates the founding of the Chinese Empire in 1916 by the Yuan Dynasty. It was donated by Elder Ahn Kee-Seok (a member of the group of South Koreans dedicated to preserving the history of John Ross) as a symbol of Korean culture and tradition.    

A Celtic cushion with a tale to tell

The fascinating story behind this hand-embroidered Celtic-style cushion cover lies with its maker, Kay Matheson. Matheson (1928 – 2013) was a well-known Scottish nationalist and Gaelic language lobbyist, born on the shores of Loch Ewe to a crofting family. She was famed for her involvement in the recovery/liberation (sometimes called theft) of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1950 when she was age 22. 

A 3 billion-year-old object

This may look like any ordinary rock at first glance. However, a well-trained eye could spot that this is actually a sample of one of the oldest rocks in the world – Lewisian Gneiss. 

Formed three billion years ago, Lewisian Gneiss forms the basement rock for the coastal strip on which Gairloch is situated, as well as the Outer Hebrides, from which it takes its name. Over millennia, this area experienced numerous geological upheavals and now helps us to understand periods of intense volcanic activity when Europe began to split from North America.  

These are only a few of the incredible stories the Museum of the Highlands will tell. From archaeology and ancient stones, to paintings, crofting tools, and complex colonial histories, there is so much to learn about the intricate, diverse, and fascinating heritage of the Highlands.

The Museum of the Highlands has been generously supported by the Art Fund and Museums Galleries Scotland. It is sponsored by Ilum Studio to help it grow and thrive post launch. We are grateful to all its supporters so far.

Sealladh – a review of our inaugural conference

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Sealladh – a review of our inaugural conference

On 20th April 2023, as the sun beamed across the Highlands, museum and heritage sector workers, volunteers and representatives made their way to Inverness, gathering for Sealladh – Highland Heritage Conference.

Initiated and organised by Museums Heritage Highland, the event is a chance for our Heritage sector to assemble. With long distances to travel and work demands, folk across the Highlands’ museums and heritage sector don’t often find time to get together – an in-person gathering felt long overdue.

The two-day event is the first conference focused solely on heritage to take place in the Highland capital. The line-up of local heritage professionals presenting alongside representatives from national funding and support agencies was impressive. The topics on the agenda were varied and pertinent.

A warm reception from the MHH team, accompanied by refreshments, was a chance for our heritage colleagues to meet and catch up. After a welcome from MHH Chair Dan Cottam, small groups formed for the first session, sharing highlights and difficulties of the last few years, what worked, what changes they have implemented in their museums and where there were problems or failures. This session concluded with a discussion on skills, the diversity of skills in the sector, the professional needs of our heritage colleagues and how we bring those two together.

A Pecha Kucha followed. Delegates presented a project and discussed how they have responded to the demands of the last few years. We enjoyed fascinating presentations by Gaelic museum and arts professional, Anna NicGuaire on the use of Gaelic in museums, the Coast team shared insight into a wonderful west coast community engagement, storytelling and mapping project, Racheal Thomas discussed Gairloch Museum’s ‘Warm Winter Wednesdays’ addressing community issues such as loneliness, isolation and inclusivity, and West Highland Museum told of their experiences with virtual reality as they develop an immersive experience partnered with St. Andrews University.

The first day concluded with delegates enjoying supper at Velocity and viewing the Gaelic documentary Dùthchas – Home, a touching exploration of the effects of population movement on the Gaelic language and culture of the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides.

The next day’s packed schedule kicked off with the Our People panel discussion focusing on the museum workforce and how this is changing. Tamsin Russell (Museums Association), Siobhan Beaton (Ullapool Museum), Ian Leith (Wick Heritage) and David Bell (National Mining Museum) talked about attracting, retaining and get the best out of our volunteers and when and how to engage additional staff.

Following, two concurrent group sessions took a deep dive into themes touched on in the panel discussion. David Bell discussed succession planning and, through examples of his own experience, as a museum volunteer and then employee, what we can do when volunteers with specific knowledge or skills stop volunteering and we can’t fill that gap. Meanwhile, Tasmin Russell led a workshop exploring well-being in museums sharing sage advice on how we best support our staff and volunteers day to day, in specific situations and through difficult times.

More tea and on with the next panel discussion.

Resourcing Our Heritage – a subject critical to all heritage organisations and museums dealing with further cuts in funding and increasing costs. How can we as a sector move from surviving to thriving in these difficult times? Chaired by MHH’s Andrew Mckenzie, Gillian Simmons shared Museums Galleries Scotland’s new seven-year strategy, Megan Braithwaite provided insight into applying to Heritage Lottery Fund, and Katie Mullen shared invaluable tips on securing support from individuals and sponsors. From the floor came tough questions and comments on core funding, funding feedback, funds now available and how to deal with failure in funded projects.

The following session, Capital Projects Discussion Group, talked about big projects, how to fund them, manage them, and how to not get overwhelmed. Delegates shared their experiences, offered guidance and found reassurance within the group.

Meanwhile, Andrew McKenzie and Yvonne Crook discussed Highland Tourism’s ambitious project to promote the Highlands as a premium environmental tourism brand and work they are doing involving the community and the heritage sector.

More Highland hospitality with lunch and a chance to chat brought us to the final leg of the conference. The afternoon focus was on collections – how we use them, care for them and how we tell the stories they hold.

The panel, Katey Boal (NTS), Freya Samuel (The Highlanders Museum), Rachael Thomas (freelance museum curator and conservator), Abeer Eladany (University of Aberdeen Museums) and Peter Knowles (Smartify) discussed a wide range of collection-related subjects from community engagement, representation, physical and intellectual accessibility, anti-racist practice and thinking about collections in a local and international context.

Delegates had the choice of joining three different groups for the last sessions of the day.

Our Collection Care workshop shared our positives and negatives about collections care, storage, display and use with invaluable advice from conservator Racheal Thomas. Digitising Collections workshop with Peter Knowles from Smartify provided insight into digital as an opportunity to bring in different voices, connect to people who can’t visit a museum, and generate income. At the Decolonisation of Collections workshop, Freya Samuel and Abeer Eladany guided our delegates in identifying and recognising the colonial structures and approaches in heritage and advised them on taking action.

The conference closed with a round-up from Dan thanking all the speakers, facilitators and everyone who came along.

As an informative and inspirational two days ended, friends and colleagues dispersed with helpful insights and practical advice, accompanied by a real sense of mutual support across the heritage community.

Feedback from delegates has been overwhelmingly positive. We all enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and the chance to meet people in the MHH network and, of course, will benefit from learning from sector colleges. We also hope that similar events will take place in the future.

The event was organised by Museums and Heritage Highland, a charity formed in 2019 to promote collaborative working and provide a supportive voice for the Highland heritage sector. It is supported through the Museums Galleries Scotland Forums Fund project and is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. The event was also supported by Smartify, the world’s most downloaded museum app, and Highland Tourism CIC, who are working with the sector to create a world-leading sustainable destination and premium environmental tourism brand.

You can watch the pecha kucha talks and panel discussions on our YouTube channel here.

Museum of the Highlands – A Digital Learning Hub

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a yellow background with the name of the website - Museum of the Highlands and a selection of objects such as a bugle, metal helmet, silver cigaratte case with bullet hole

With a launch date set for the end of May, The Museum of the Highlands digital learning hub is almost ready for you to explore. MHH Innovation and Network Manager, Nicola Henderson, offers a little background on how we got to this point and the aims of the project.

When the country went into lockdown in 2020, museums across the Highlands (like museums all over the world) looked for new ways to engage with their audiences. Many already had a digital presence, but it was very much secondary to the physical. Now digital was everything. This was particularly true for museum education content. How do you engage with young people and schools when your core asset – your museum – is closed? As a sector, we experimented with downloadable pdfs, online activities and virtual visits, to name a few initiatives. These were very successful, not just with our local audiences but with schools and families across the world. Suddenly, we weren’t just offering resources and activities for our local communities but for anyone, anywhere, who was interested. The potential was huge.

However, many of our small – medium-sized museums already work over capacity. As we began to open up our buildings and demand for in-person interactions rose again, maintaining and capitalising on the opportunity offered by this global reach was challenging.

Museums across the Highlands get together through monthly online ‘Heritage Cafes’ – informal gatherings on Zoom to share challenges, and successes, ask questions and meet with colleagues. The focus of one session was education and our museums. How could we meet this challenge, grabbing the opportunities while maintaining and nurturing local relationships?

Through discussion, we decided that a collaborative approach – a central hub that could host content and point to museums and their unique offers – could be the answer. Sharing the work, sharing the learning, sharing the reach and potential. This idea grew arms and legs. And, thanks to funding from Art Fund and Museums Galleries Scotland, has become the Museum of the Highlands digital learning hub.

Over the last year, we have worked with museums across the Highlands to create a dynamic digital learning hub enabling children, young people and teachers to discover and engage with museum collections in new and exciting ways. Fifteen museums from across the region have collaborated and worked closely with our Digital Learning and Interpretation Specialists by bringing objects from their collections together to create a digital portal into the rich history and culture of the Highlands.

The learning hub will allow users to access museum collections and learning resources related to objects and topics for use at home or in the classroom, with the functionality to contact museums directly to set up virtual or in-person learning visits.

The site is sponsored by Ilum Studio to help with ongoing maintenance costs and to develop new activities in the future. This ongoing support is essential to the project, ensuring that it doesn’t fall to our already overstretched museums to maintain – it will also allow the website to grow and adapt as feedback is received and we are very grateful to the team at Ilum Studio for supporting us through year 1.

The team of Rosie Goodwin and Freya Samuel as Digital Learning and Interpretation Specialists, have led the curation of the objects and designing the associated learning games and resources in partnership with teachers and young people. In the lead up to the launch of the website, Freya and Rosie will introduce you to the process and types of activities you will find on the site.

I am excited to share the project with you – it is no small task working with the collections of fifteen museums and ensuring content and activities meet the needs of teachers and parents. I believe we have created an engaging, fun and, most importantly, user-friendly site that will support schools, families and museums to engage meaningfully with museum collections in the classroom.

Museums gearing up for new season!

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Museums gearing up for new season!

Many, but not all, Highland Museums close or reduce their hours during the winter season, giving them time to care for their collections, research new exhibitions and take time to plan for the future. As Easter approaches many of our museums are getting ready to welcome visitors once again.

Whether they close completely, reduce their hours or keep on going as normal, Highland museums always see the Easter holidays as a chance for a re-awakening. A chance to encourage you to rediscover their collections, visit a new exhibition, attend some exciting events or just pop in for a chat. Whether you are a local or a visitor to the area, you can be guaranteed a warm and friendly welcome. We have a handy map on this website that can help you see where our museums are located as you plan your visit and their listings have contact details so that you can reach out directly to see what is happening and when they are open. Visit the map here.

Two of our museums have some very exciting events coming up. Clyne Heritage Society are celebrating 25 years in existence and have an extensive and fascinating series of events to mark the occasion. You can view a full list of what’s happening here.

And just a little further north in Castletown, Castlehill Heritage Centre is launching a new exhibition to also celebrate an anniversary. Mucking in for 100 years!  will feature themed displays of stories, photographs, tools and implements from CHC’s local Olrig parish farming heritage.  The exhibition is being run in conjunction with the Caithness District Young Farmers Association which is celebrating its centenary this year.

Farming-Exhibition-poster-v3Download

HIGHLAND CONFERENCE AIMS TO FIND A POSITIVE FUTURE FOR HERITAGE

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HIGHLAND CONFERENCE AIMS TO FIND A POSITIVE FUTURE FOR HERITAGE

Museum and heritage representatives will gather in Inverness for our first Highland Heritage Conference. Sealladh will take place at Inverness Creative Academy on the 20th – 21st April, 2023.  

The conference will focus on issues impacting our heritage sector. Alongside presentations by delegates from across the Highlands, speakers from national organisations Museums and Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Museums Association will share invaluable insights into resourcing our heritage and empowering our workforce. 

Anyone who works or volunteers in the heritage sector is welcome to attend.

The event is organised by Museums and Heritage Highland, a charity formed in 2019 to promote collaborative working and provide a supportive voice for the Highland heritage sector. It is supported through the Museums Galleries Scotland Forums Fund project and is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. The event is further supported by Smartify, the world’s most downloaded museum app, and Highland Tourism CIC, who are working with the sector to create a world-leading sustainable destination and premium environmental tourism brand.

Nicola Henderson, Museums and Heritage Highlands Digital Innovation and Network Manager, said:

“The conference schedule is packed with sessions focusing on innovation and digital skills, managing capital projects, caring for collections and fundraising. There are also discussions around tourism in the Highlands underpinned by rich heritage as well as well-being in museums.

“The first session will be a fun ice breaker, where we will learn more about the diversity of skills in the sector, the professional needs of our heritage colleagues and how we bring those two together. We are planning a ‘Pecha Kucha’ inviting delegates to present a project and discuss how they have responded to the demands of the last few years. We will also discuss complex issues such as the decolonisation of museums and how we ensure our collections are accessible and representative of all society today.”

“The event is an opportunity to discuss and develop plans for the future of our heritage sector. That’s where the event name came from, Sealladh, meaning perspective or view in Gaelic.”

Helen Avenell, Museums and Heritage Highlands Projects and Partnerships Manager, added:

“Our network of museums, galleries and heritage organisations reaches from Strathnaver on the North coast to Gairloch, Granton and Glencoe. Over the past few years, we have held regular online meet-ups, this is the first conference we have organised. We are excited to see our colleagues from across the Highlands in person and looking forward to meeting new members. I encourage anyone working or volunteering in museums or heritage organisations to come along.

“Although we are a Highland-based organisation, many topics we will focus on are relevant to every heritage organisation. We hope to attract heritage delegates from beyond the Highland region to Inverness for this event.”

There will be a screening of Dùthchas – Home, a touching and emotive exploration of what it meant, and still means, to people, especially women, to have to leave the island of their birth to get an education, work, and live. In this, the third documentary feature film ever to be made in Gaelic, Co-directors Kirsty MacDonald (Comas Creative) and Andy Mackinnon (UistFilm) explore the effect this movement had on the Gaelic language and culture of the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides.

Sealladh – Highland Heritage Conference, takes place 20th and 21st April, 2023 in Inverness. Programme info and tickets are available via Eventbrite

More information on our sponsors:

Highland Tourism CIC

Together we will create a world-leading premium environmental tourism brand. With communities, our ambassadors and partners, we will build on the Highlands’ natural, historic and cultural assets and showcase them to the world. We will work in partnership with stakeholders across all sectors to create a dynamic environment in which tourism businesses and their communities are supported and encouraged to become conscious hosts, ready to deliver the exceptional, immersive and authentic experiences that the growing conscious tourism market is now seeking. Ultimately, we will leverage this vision of a sustainable, wellbeing destination to position The Highlands as one of the world’s most inspiring and welcoming places to live, work, visit, study and invest. highlandtourism.org

Smartify

Smartify connects people to art. Trusted by cultural organisations around the world; we entertain, enliven and enrich audiences.  Because when we’re inspired, we’re unstoppable. 

Smartify’s innovative technology and engaging storytelling makes cultural heritage accessible for a global audience. Our expert creative team delivers the best mobile experiences with highly engaging stories through audio, video and podcasts. Smartify productions are contemporary, thoughtful and entertaining.

More than 2 million artworks from the world’s greatest museums have been scanned on the platform, accessed by more than 3 million registered users through state-of-the-art object recognition, digital wayfinding and augmented reality. That, combined with speed, reliability and depth, makes Smartify the world’s most successful museum application. smartify.org

More information on the film Dùthchas – Home www.duthchas.org 

MHH Welcomes new board members!

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MHH Welcomes new board members!

There have been a few changes on the MHH board recently. At the end of last year we sadly said goodbye to our secretary Graham Watson. Graham was a great asset to the organisation and helped us find our feet in the early days. His advice and cander was very much appreciated and we wish him well in his next endeavours. We have had a few free places on the board for a while and so undertook a campaign to encourage new people to join the network – in particular with skills in marketing/audience development, tourism and HR. We received a positive response to this call out and have added 4 new members in recent weeks. Welcome to Ben Thomas, Joe Derry Setch, Sophie Foot and Jason Martin. We are delighted to add such a variety of skills and experience to the board and look forward to working with them on our shared mission of helping Highland heritage to thrive.

Ben Thomas
Ben is Research Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, where he undertakes and supports research to understand the values and benefits of Scotland’s heritage.  He is particularly interested in community heritage and intangible cultural heritage, and is Principal Investigator on the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded Outreach to Ownership community research pilot with Historic England.  Ben has previously worked at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and the University of Dundee.  In his spare time, Ben is a board member of Gairloch Museum, and the editor of the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness.  He grew up in Gairloch, and lives and works in Inverness.

Joe Derry Setch
Joe is a Marketing and Communications Officer at Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS), the national development body for museums. His work at MGS involves creating digital content, planning campaigns, taking photos, and offering marketing advice. He is interested in exploring how museums can improve the accessibility and inclusivity of their digital and physical spaces, particularly with regard to LGBTQ+ history and culture. As a member of the MHH board, he hopes to support museums which are exploring their approaches to marketing, accessibility, and inclusivity. Previous jobs include front-of-house work at National Museums Scotland and a museum assistant role at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. He has a background in Scottish early modern history, and spends his free time drawing, gaming, and playing badminton.

Joe Derry Setch in a black poloneck and glasses in a traditional style pharmacist
Joe Derry Setch
Ben Thomas in a blue jacket in front of a stone church
Ben Thomas

Sophie Foot
Sophie is originally from the Scottish Highlands, north of Inverness and now lives in The Hague, The Netherlands. Her academic background is in Ancient History and Egyptology, but she is fascinated by most areas of global history, ancient or modern and connections that are visible across cultures and time periods. I moved to Edinburgh for my Bachelors Degree in Ancient History, and then to The Netherlands for my Masters in Egyptology. Sophie brings experience in the creative and technology industries. She is interested in combining technology with history and heritage in innovative ways, to encourage audiences to be more engaged in heritage, especially using immersive technology to allow the audience to feel like they are participating in historical events. Sophie is our new secretary.

Jason Martin
Jason recently returned to his hometown of Inverness having lived in Edinburgh for several years. He originally studied MA in historical studies at the University of Glasgow. He started his career in heritage as a volunteer at Culloden battlefield before joining the team as a learning assistant for a season, primarily guiding and working with school groups. Jason went on to work for Mercat Tours, 5 star award winning walking tour company in Edinburgh, before moving on to tour operator with Absolute Escapes, in their operations department planning holidays around the UK. His current position is Destination Development Manager at the Cairngorms Business Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce and they operate VisitCairngorms. Jason is involved in various projects around the National Park, leading the development of CBP climate action plan, product development, business engagement and brings experience in marketing and working with travel trade. 

Sophie Foot, close up of face - Sophie has brown hair and dark rimmed glasses and is a young women in her 20s.
Sophie Foot
Jason Martin in front of a giant sequoia at the Natural History Museum wearing a khaki shirt.
Jason Martin

 Breathing Space mini-residency

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 Breathing Space mini-residency

We are very excited to launch our first residential weekend offering peer-to-peer support for Museum Managers and Curators

When
Friday 24th February (6pm-ish) – Sunday 26th February (11am-ish)

Where
Kirkmichael Apartments, Kirkmichael near Pitlochry

What
A 2-day professional development opportunity for early to mid career curator/managers in the Highlands.

Curator/managers often find themselves focusing on the organisational aspects of their roles, caught up in a never-ending list of deadlines, unanswered emails, evaluations and budgetary concerns. The aim of this residency is to give them the opportunity to share their experiences, enrich their practice and explore in depth issues, concerns, possibilities and opportunities in a safe non-judgmental environment.

The residency will include:

  • Facilitated getting to know each other time 
  • One-to-one skills sharing sessions
  • One-to-one idea sharing with peer response
  • Group discussion and problem solving

MHH understands that some participants may have genuine concerns about sharing their ideas or challenges with others. While all participants should know in advance that some degree of sharing is key to gaining as much as possible from the workshops, it is also understood that there is some need for privacy and you will not be asked to discuss anything that you would prefer to keep private. 

This residency will be supported and facilitated by Tamsin Russell. Tamsin is based in Fife and has worked in the cultural sector for over 20 years leading on learning and professional development from formal leadership programmes to action learning sets, from careers advice to coaching. Tamsin joins with an understanding of the sector, and the Scottish landscape specifically.

‘I am really delighted to be holding this space for curator/ managers, my philosophy has always been if we all share, we all learn – and this programme is grounded on that belief.’

Eligibility
The course will be open to a maximum of 6 curator/managers, who will be chosen by application. Participants will be selected based upon their shared needs and stage of career: it is hoped that participants will be working at a similar level to maximise their opportunities for sharing experiences and learning. The course is open to all those who have some experience working as a curator/manager for at least 1 year. You must also be resident in the Highlands & Islands or Moray at the time of application.

Costs
All residential costs (accommodation and meals) will be covered by Museums and Heritage Highland. Participants are only required to pay an attendance fee of £50 (£100 for non-members) and cover their own travel expenses to Pitcairlie House (we will organise car-sharing for this to reduce costs as much as possible).

This opportunity is funded through the Museums Galleries Scotland Forum’s Fund project and is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.

How to Apply
Please send a current CV and personal support statement explaining why you would like to take part (in particular, why now?), think about what you would want to leave the weekend knowing/feeling/being able to do and please state what skills you would like to share and the key issue you would like to discuss with the group.

This opportunity is open to all. If you have any access requirements please include these in your personal statement so that we can ensure your needs are met.

Email these to Nicola Henderson, nicola.henderson@museumsandheritagehighland.org.uk  no later than 5pm on Wednesday 21st December. Applicants will be notified of the decision by Wednesday 11th January.

We want you on board!

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view of glen with community members standing in circle surveying site

Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is a new charity formed in March 2019. We are a strong, supportive voice for heritage in the Highlands. Our members include museums, galleries and heritage organisations of all sizes from across the region. We work to promote collaborative working and capacity building; promoting partnership opportunities that support our members achieve their purpose and to be sustainable and resilient in challenging times.

We are seeking new Board members to join our existing Board of Trustees, which provides support, advice, expertise, and ideas to ensure good governance and healthy practice.

We are looking for people who have experience and skills in the following areas:

  • Fundraising – public, private and commercial
  • Marketing/PR
  • Tourism
  • Accounting
  • Human Resources
  • Strategy development

We want to remove barriers that may prevent people from accessing or participating in our work. For this reason, we encourage applications from individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the sector due to age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, faith or belief, education, or socio-economic background.

The successful candidates will have:

  • An understanding of and interest in Highland heritage and tourism
  • Excellent relationship-building and communication skills
  • Strong ability to work collaboratively
  • Knowledge of or interest in MHH work
  • One or more of the key skills we are looking for (listed above)
  • Previous Board experience is not essential.


Museums and Heritage Highland Board meets six times a year (mostly online, but occasionally in person meetings may be required, usually in the Inverness area).  In addition to attending meetings, Board members are asked to give an additional two days (minimum) of their time over the course of each year towards assisting the organisation in its aims, and to attend events or trainings provided to support the Board’s development or their knowledge of the work of MHH.

MHH is an equal opportunities organisation. We will work with short-listed candidates to ensure their access needs are met during the recruitment process and will ensure that access requirements are not a factor in our decision-making.

Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is a registered SCIO formed in March 2019. Scottish Charity Number SC049088.

How to Apply

Please send your note of interest to danieljosephcottam@gmail.com and include a bit about your background and why you’re interested in joining the team.  Please also tell us if you are specifically interested in applying for an office bearer position (chair, secretary, treasurer). This should be no longer than 1 A4 page, or 2 minutes audio/video file, sent (via link if a large file) to the email address above.

If you have any questions about the role or would like to speak with a member of the team, please email Dan Cottam at danieljosephcottam@gmail.com

Clan Macpherson Museum

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Clan Macpherson Museum

The Clan Macpherson Museum, situated at the south end of Newtonmore, tells the story of the Clan and its people. It has housed the relics and memorials, from ancient Highland history to modern computer science, for over 70 years.

The newly refurbished exhibition tells a story of land and landscape, family and belonging, loyalty and rebellion. You will find fascinating Clan treasures like the Black Chanter sent down from heaven, witness stories like the one of Macpherson’s lament and Jamie’s broken fiddle, or learn about the reinvention of the Highlands by James ‘Ossian’ Macpherson.

Clan-history is told by a long line of tradition bearers and storytellers, part of the oral culture of the Gaelic world, the Gàidhealtachd. From Clan Chiefs to crofters, the story of the Macphersons and the area is told through books, poetry, songs, piping and fiddle music.

Visit the Clan Macpherson Museum, which is the home of the Clan and see it all for yourself!
https://www.clanmacphersonmuseum.org.uk/

Glencoe Museum talk retail and sustainability

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Glencoe Museum talk retail and sustainability

We invited Catriona, curator at Glencoe Folk Museum, to talk to us about the journey they have been on with the Steps to Sustainability programme.

In 2021, we were successful in our application to take part in Steps to Sustainability – a programme run by Social Enterprise Academy and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The aim of the programme was to support organisations through a specific project of their own choosing, through a combination of workshops, facilitated sessions, discussions and networking. Following successful completion of the programme – and delivery of a presentation outlining plans, costs and profit – each organisation was awarded £5000 towards their project, with a further £5000 promised further down the line, provided we could evidence that our project was a success.

We chose to focus our project on our gift shop. An issue we have always had (and maybe something other Highland Museums can relate to) is a lack of funds at the start of the season to invest in shop stock, and not wanting to risk spending money on products that might not sell well. The money from this programme allowed us the freedom to experiment with new lines, commission our own bespoke products based on objects from the collection, cover high “minimum spend” for new sellers, and put in much larger initial orders to keep us well stocked.

With the first £5000, we commissioned Paper Houses Design to create a pattern inspired by our Spitalfields Silk Dress (as featured in Highland Threads), which we then had printed on tote bags, tea towels, mugs and silk scarves. We also invested in local artist Lilli (Discover & Draw), who uses the local landscape to inspire her work, and sells items including mugs, bags, cards, stickers, water bottles and coasters. Finally, local model-maker Jodie created Ballachulish Goddess keyrings for us, based on our replica. These were probably the most popular out of all of these items – a completely unique and quirky souvenir of the area and the museum!
Seeing how each of these products sold allowed us to determine how to spend the remaining £5000. We could see that visitors appreciated unique items which had a strong Glencoe connection – whether to the museum, the community who created them or to the landscape. Our most unique selling point is our museum cottages, so we decided to commission “museum bothies” – little thatched ceramic double-cottages in the style of our museum. These were created by Glenshee Bothies, and we also invested in their pre-existing coloured bothies, tin-roofed bothies and single-cottage thatched bothies.

We also invested in some local businesses: we bought a range of soy candles from the Glencoe Candle Company, local heather honey from Jahama Estate, a selection of loose-leaf teas made just along the road in Mallaig and jewellery by a local crafter. We were also able to stock up on more Ballachulish Goddess keyrings and more items from Discover & Draw.
Finally, we expanded our children’s range. This is something I feel that the gift shop has been lacking for a while, but sellers seemed to have quite large minimum orders and minimum spend for new retailers. The funding allowed us to stock a wide selection risk-free. We opted for Living Nature soft toys of local wildlife and a range of retro ‘pocket-money’ toys such as slinkies, cup-and-ball, pick-up-sticks and spinning tops.

I have to admit that I found the programme itself a little time-consuming, though I was the only member of staff at the time (colleague was furloughed) so was trying to juggle a lot of balls and hadn’t quite realised what I was signing up for. It consisted of two back-to-back full day Zoom sessions each month for 3 months plus extra optional courses on things like marketing or retail, one-to-one mentoring sessions and also time spent preparing the presentation. It was all really useful stuff though, and for organisations with dedicated members of staff running e.g. the gift shop or café, this should be much more manageable and shouldn’t cause any issues! The organisations taking part in the same round as us – which included the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Dundee Transport Museum and Mary Burgh Halls – all agreed that it was extremely useful to be able to connect with other museums running similar projects, and to get advice and discuss problems with peers. I also found that our mentor was extremely knowledgeable and full of great ideas for taking things forward after the end of the programme.

So, despite the long sessions, this programme was absolutely worth it for us. Our gift shops sales and profit have increased remarkably; in June 2022, we saw a 190% increase in profit from the gift shop compared to June 2019, and every other month has been at least 50% up on 2019. I put this down to having a retail offer that is unique, thoughtful and local, giving visitors the opportunity to purchase souvenirs that they can’t get anywhere else – and we wouldn’t have been able to create this offer without the funding and support from the Steps to Sustainability programme.

Round 3 of the Steps to Sustainability programme is starting  in October 2022. You can find out more here.