Council congratulates local museum on shortlist for national award

The Chair of The Highland Council’s Sutherland County Committee has congratulated Timespan, a cultural organisation in Helmsdale, for reaching the shortlist for this year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year award.

Cllr Richard Gale said: “This is excellent news for Timespan, the local community, and for the Highlands. On behalf of Sutherland members, I would like to express how proud we are of Timespan’s achievement in being shortlisted for this fantastic award. We would also like to thank the museum for the work and dedication they have shown to our local area, including operating as a social hub for the community. We have a lot to offer for residents and visitors to Sutherland and Timespan is highlighting this at a national level.”

Art Fund annually shortlists five outstanding museums for the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year prize. The winning museum will receive £100k and the other four shortlisted museums will each receive £15k in recognition of their achievements. Timespan’s nomination will be the second in as many years for a Highland museum. Gairloch Museum was also a finalist in 2020, and went on to be a winner of the award.

The 2021 prize highlights and rewards the extraordinary and innovative ways in which museums have, over the past year, served and connected with their communities, even when they have had to close their physical spaces.

Timespan is a local history museum with a contemporary art programme, geology and herb gardens, shop, bakery and café. The organisation commissions four major projects each year and their work focuses on urgent contemporary issues which are rooted in the local context of remote, rural Scotland.

Timespan’s manifesto includes generating social change and accessibility beyond boundaries and hierarchies. This weekend saw the start of its latest exhibition, Global Village Art Factory, running until 17 October.

For more information, timespan.org.uk

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