Packed Programme Scheduled for National Museums Scotland

Following the success of an overwhelming one million visitors to its flagship site, National Museums Scotland is announcing a packed year ahead of exhibitions and events across its five museums.

From Egyptian mummies to the remarkable story of one of Russia’s most charismatic leaders, 2012 offers a riveting and diverse programme of activity to appeal to all audiences. The new programme reveals a major new space for international exhibitions at the heart of the National Museum of Scotland.

Dr Gordon Rintoul, Director, National Museums Scotland said:
‘Next year we have a packed programme of exhibitions and events including a hugely inspiring series of international exhibitions in the transformed National Museum of Scotland. After successfully delivering this major capital project, and with a staggering 1m visitors to the new Museum in the first four months, we are focusing on delivering an exciting, appealing and diverse programme that will ensure there is always something new to visit across all our Museums.’

The National Museum offers the last chance to see Admiral Cochrane, the Real Master and Commander  which ends on 19 February. This exhibition looks at the extraordinary life of one Scotsman, the naval officer Lord Cochrane, whose real story is as incredible as anything in the blockbuster films and books it inspired. The exhibition, which has already welcomed thousands of visitors, is a rare chance to explore his life and times through an extraordinary collection of awards, personal possessions, private papers and dramatic paintings never seen together before.  Ancient Egypt has intrigued and fascinated travellers and scholars for centuries. The beliefs and associated rituals practised by this ancient civilisation have left a rich legacy which continues to fascinate us today.

From February, Fascinating Mummies, the first exhibition in the major new exhibitions space, will be an extraordinary experience, delving deep into the rituals surrounding death and afterlife in Ancient Egypt. This unique exhibition will feature treasures, dating back as far as 4000BC, from the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, world famous for its Egyptology collections.  

At the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle, Reconstructing Lives takes a fascinating and moving look at the experience of those who have lost limbs in war, whether military or civilian, and the technology which helps rebuild their lives. It will explore the evolution of prosthetic limbs and their technological development, with real examples, powerful images, and the amputees’ own stories. 

At the National Museum of Scotland from March, See Scotland by Train will provide the first chance to see National Museums Scotland’s beautiful collection of Scottish railway posters. These striking works of art reflect the changing tastes and needs of the rail passengers over the last 100 years, giving a flavour of what it meant to travel by rail. They depict some of the most dramatic and scenic locations around Scotland. 

From April at the National Museum of Costume, visitors can reminisce about bygone fashion with Off the Peg: Fashion from the ’40s and ’50s. Evening gowns, day dresses, beach wear and housecoats in bold innovative prints form the centrepiece of this exhibition, organised in conjunction with The Fashion & Textile Museum, London. Key among the exhibits are designs produced by Horrockses Fashions Limited, one of the most well-respected off-the-peg labels of the 1940s and 1950s. The spotlight for contemporary jewellery often rests on makers from Central Europe.

A Sense of Place, opening in May, will turn the focus on developments happening in Northern Europe. The exhibition will showcase new work by a group of emerging and established jewellery artists from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland. It will also explore the inspiration behind striking works made especially for this exhibition.  

The summer exhibition at the National Museum, Catherine the Great, An Enlightened Empress will showcase the truly spectacular collections of one of Russia’s most successful rulers. The exhibition, sponsored by Baillie Gifford, marks the longstanding connections between Scotland and Russia. Co-developed with the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, it shows exclusively in Edinburgh. It will include outstanding paintings, magnificent costumes and uniforms, gold and silver and strong personal stories of Catherine and her reign.  It will be the first time that many of the 300 items on display will have been shown outside of Russia. A truly unique opportunity to experience a magnificent collection. 

In June Sounds Global will be the first display in the new National Museum of Scotland created by and for young people. This exhibition will focus on the global power and influence of music, as part of Stories of the World, a 2012 Cultural Olympiad project. With National Museums Scotland as the lead Scottish partner, museums, libraries, galleries and archives across the UK are working with young people aged 14-25 to explore and re-interpret collections of objects from global cultures. In the first of a new strand of contemporary art initiatives, Dutch artist Melvin Moti has been invited by National Museums Scotland to make new work in response to the National Collection.

The installation One Thousand Points of Light will include a new film by Moti and a selection of specimens and artefacts’ chosen from the collection by him. Following the success of the Admiral Cochrane exhibition, the autumn 2012 exhibition at the National Museum looks at another of Scotland’s great pioneers, Dr David Livingstone. In anticipation of the bi-centenary of his birth, Dr Livingstone, I Presume? will trace his life story from humble beginnings to national hero, from his early working life in a cotton mill to studying medicine and divinity and becoming a missionary in Africa. National Museums Scotland are working in partnership on this exhibition with the National Museums of Malawi. To complement these exhibitions, there is an innovative range of events and activities across all five National Museums, from workshops, live interpretation events and school visits to family days out.

These include the Country Fair with country skills demonstrations and rural games, and the ever-popular Christmas Fair and Foal Show at the National Museum of Rural Life; and the Edinburgh International Science Festival and Fascinating Mummies-themed events at the National Museum of Scotland. At the National Museum of Flight, events include the revamped annual Airshow with its spectacular flying display and World Wars Experience, which recreates the reality of life in wartime.  The full programme of exhibitions is:

Website www.nms.ac.uk