Press release -

V&A Dundee to embark on national tour in 2015

V&A Museum of Design Dundee will begin 2015 with their first touring exhibition visiting more than 70 places the length and breadth of Scotland. The tour takes in rural locations such as Harris, Campbeltown, Elgin and Galashiels alongside Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Part of the new museum’s national pre-opening programme, the Design in Motion exhibition will be housed in the Travelling Gallery, a custom-built, mobile, contemporary gallery inside a bus.

The tour will launch in Dundee on February 13 before embarking on a 17-week journey visiting 78 venues including secondary schools and art colleges, museums, community centres and libraries with a final stop planned at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in June.

A collaboration with the Travelling Gallery, Design in Motion is the second V&A Dundee project to benefit from funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The tour will take exhibits, designers and the V&A Dundee team across the country, connecting communities with Scotland’s design heritage and raising awareness of the talent in Scotland’s present-day design industries, inspiring creativity along the way.

The exhibition concept, brought to life by designer Gabrielle Underwood, will showcase seven leading designers currently working with digital technology to push the boundaries of their discipline within games, product, jewellery, fashion, textiles and built heritage.

Featuring designers Geoffrey Mann, Sophia George, Anarkik3D, Sara Robertson and Sarah Taylor, Lynne MacLachlan, the Digital Design Studio and leading fashion designer Holly Fulton, the exhibition was curated in a typically inventive fashion, with an expert advisory group contributing their suggestions for content through a series of dedicated Pinterest boards.

Alongside the exhibition, V&A Dundee is working with Dundee-based developers eeGeo to develop an innovative new mobile app. The Design Scotland app, free to download for iOS and Android from 13 February 2015, uses bespoke 3D mapping technology to virtually track the tour and importantly, highlight stories of Scotland’s extraordinary design heritage across the last 300 years. Alongside this, users will be encouraged to pin their favourite Scottish designers, design icons and objects to the map, sharing their own thoughts, ideas and stories of Scottish creativity.

Sarah Saunders, Head of Learning & Engagement for V&A Dundee said: “We are delighted to be able to announce details of Design in Motion today. It’s an incredibly ambitious project, but one that we feel underlines the scope and scale of the new museum, and really allows us to set out our stall as a new national institution.

“The designers in this exhibition have used digital technologies as a means of reconstructing our heritage, visualising the unseen, and creating new forms. To them, digital is a tool that enables them to experiment, play and create. There are also some shining examples of how today’s designers are using the innovations of the past to inspire the designs of the future.

“We look forward to seeing what our audiences pin to the map and are excited to think of the potential of this information in enabling audiences to inform our future programme.

“We are immensely grateful for the support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery and The Mathew Trust in making this exhibition happen.”

The Travelling Gallery has over 30 years experience of bringing exhibitions to locations throughout Scotland.  Based at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh, the Travelling Gallery is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council and funded through Creative Scotland.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Convener for Culture and Sport for the City of Edinburgh, Council, said: “The Travelling Gallery allows people to see and experience art and design outside traditional surroundings, making it truly accessible. We are delighted to be partnering with V&A Dundee on what is a really exciting project. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to take a tour through the exhibition when the bus comes to town.”

Alongside the exhibition and app there will be an exciting programme of events and activities to inspire people of all ages and abilities to get involved in and have fun with design creativity.

Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said: “The V&A Dundee is not only at the heart of Dundee’s economic transformation, it is a valuable addition to Scotland’s cultural offering. This tour will allow people all over the country to get excited about this world-class development as well as inspire schools and communities about the importance of design and the role it plays in our heritage and cultural identity.  This is especially important as we work towards the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design in 2016.”

Topics

  • Tourism

Categories

  • corporate communications

Regions

  • Scotland

Notes to Editors:

  • Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
  • VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland. 
  • The organisation has three key roles:
  1. To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
  2. To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
  3. To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
  • VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
  • The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
  • 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
  • The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy. 
  • According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
  • Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
  • For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
  • For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
  • For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx

Contacts

Chelsea Charles

Press contact Scotland’s Themed Years Communications & Engagement Manager Contact for media enquiries on: Scotland’s Themed Years (i.e. 2018 Year of Young People; 2020 Year of Scotland's Coast and Waters; 2022 Year of Scotland's Stories) 0131 472 2067

Carrie MacWilliam

Press contact Senior Corporate Press Officer - National Contact for media enquiries on: Travel media (Scotland); Year of Young People; UK Marketing; Dundee; Fife; Angus; Perthshire 0131 472 2052

Amelia Whittaker

Press contact Senior Corporate Press Officer - Regional Contact for media enquiries on: South Region; Edinburgh and Lothians; Food and Drink; Scottish Thistle Awards 01750 723806

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