‘New Connections’ project
A NEW joint venture has been set up to gather the dispersed treasure of maritime heritage knowledge of the Northern Isles and make it available to a wider audience.
Funded by a number of national academic bodies, the new partnership brings together Shetland Amenity Trust, Orkney Arts, Museums and Heritage, The Old Haa in Yell, Westray Heritage Centre, Cunningsburgh History Group and Orkney Historic Boat Society.
At the heart of the New Connections project will be a new website, online and in-gallery exhibitions, new artworks for each archipelago, as well as series of short films.
Shetland Museum curator Dr Ian Tait said: “The New Connections website will become a vital one-stop portal, directing islanders and visitors alike to the places, websites, museums and heritage centres, and the people that hold knowledge and expertise about a wealth of maritime culture from fisheries to sailing craft, from traditional boat building to music of the isles and the sea.”
Jimmy Clouston of the Orkney Historic Boat Society added: “We look forward to the opportunity of developing curatorial skills through learning together with other maritime enthusiasts and experts throughout the Northern Isles.”
The project is funded by Museums Galleries Scotland’s museum development fund, the intercultural research centre at Heriot Watt University, the UHI institute for Northern Studies and the Hugh Fraser Foundation.
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