Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, that has over 200 monuments and 13 venues across the Capital, aims to give citizens of Edinburgh a renewed sense of connection to its objects and their stories through a new three year project named Auld Reekie Retold.
The newly launched project will see the recording and cataloguing of the collection of over 200,000 objects which are housed across the Capital, in preparation for a move to a new store where those objects can be safely stored and effectively managed. This will be the largest collections inventory project ever undertaken in the history of Edinburgh’s Museums and Galleries.
The project is notsolely based on management of the collection, which has been growing steadily since the 1870’s, but connects objects in the collection with people and places in the City, uncovering new stories from Edinburgh and its residents.
Project Manager Nico Tyack said “Auld Reekie Retold is a truly unique opportunity for Museums & Galleries Edinburgh to catch all the stories our collections can tell us about Edinburgh. From Jacobite muskets to life in tenements, Edinburgh Rock to Pride, medieval St. Giles to the Festival Fringe, we hope to spark conversations about our amazing collections and their hidden histories, gathering new insights for future generations to enjoy.”
Auld Reekie Retold is an opportunity for greater understanding of the origins of the collections and the way they have been catalogued. Throughout the lifecycle of the project, the impact of Colonialism will be highlighted, seeking to educate and bring new perspectives and hidden stories to light. Future phases of the project will involve working with diverse communities across Edinburgh to record objects in new ways that better reflect today’s world.
While Covid restrictions are in place, events to enable engagement with the collection and to share in the discoveries made will be online, but when visitors are welcomed back in to the museums, they will be able to see and handle real objects themselves.
The work is designed to consolidate Museums & Galleries Edinburgh’s position as a leading Scottish cultural institution and to help better serve the people of Edinburgh as well as visitors from across the world.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 