2 millionth visitor welcomed to V&A Dundee 

Free-to-use photos available

V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum, has welcomed its 2 millionth visitor less than six years after first opening to the public in September 2018.

Jenny Gaskell from Ayrshire visited the museum at 4.23pm on Thursday 23 May during a trip to Dundee to see her family.

She was met by museum Director Leonie Bell and Councillor Steven Rome, convener of Fair Work, Economic Growth and Infrastructure at Dundee City Council, who gave Jenny a gift bag with a collection of Scottish designed products from the shop at V&A Dundee, a £100 Dundee Loves Local gift card and tickets to the Kimono exhibition.

The museum continues to have a transformative effect on Dundee and the surrounding region. Over 500,000 people have visited the city for the very first time as part of visits to V&A Dundee and the museum has generated over £300 million of economic impact for Scotland.

The milestone comes shortly after the opening of this year’s major exhibition, Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk, that celebrates this ever-evolving design icon within V&A Dundee’s Japanese-inspired architecture. This is the last chance to see these rare objects together on the final stop of the exhibition’s international tour.

V&A Dundee is also currently showing the free exhibition Photo City: How Images Shape the Urban World which uses the V&A’s spectacular photography collections to explore the ways that photography and cities influence each other. A highlight of Photo City is a new five-metre-wide portrait of Dundee by Japanese photographer Sohei Nishino which he created by hand from thousands of photographs.

Two free displays currently showcase local design with Streets Ahead featuring the nine winning schools from a Scotland-wide design challenge to redesign local high streets, while Photo Fabric shows new fashion and accessories designed by Dundee & Angus College textile students.

Later this summer, the Dundee Tapestry will also return following an enormously positive public reaction to its run earlier in the year, during which over 86,000 people visited the museum, as well as a free programme of family activities taking place throughout the summer holidays supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

V&A Dundee’s Scottish Design Galleries, the first galleries in the world to tell the story of Scottish design in one location, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s iconic Oak Room as its centrepiece. New UK Government Levelling Up support of £2.6 million will see those galleries reimagined and expanded in the coming years.

Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “We are so happy to be welcoming the 2 millionth visitor to V&A Dundee. In less than six years V&A Dundee has grown to be an everyday part of its city, as well as a place for people to visit from near and far. We would like to thank everyone that visits and supports us, and we look forward to welcoming lots more visitors over summer.

“It’s a proud moment that the museum has reached its 2 millionth visitor given the challenges that the pandemic brought. We are looking forward to a very busy 2024, with our major international exhibition Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk, the free exhibition Photo City and the return of the Dundee Tapestry later this summer.”

Angus Robertson, Scottish Government Culture Secretary, said: “As Scotland’s centre for design, V&A Dundee is an important part of Scotland’s cultural life and a significant contributor to the local economy and the country as a whole so I want to congratulate everyone involved for the achievement of this major milestone.

“Now an unmistakable part of the city’s skyline, I know from my own visits that it is constantly evolving, and I would highly encourage anyone who has not already taken the time to see what V&A Dundee has to offer.”

Dundee City Council leader Councillor John Alexander said: “This is yet another significant achievement for V&A Dundee and our city.

“The museum continues to attract visitors through an imaginative programme of displays and activities.

“V&A Dundee creates positive opportunities for the people of the city and provides an important contribution to the economy.”

V&A Dundee opened in September 2018 and welcomed its 1 millionth visitor in February 2020, shortly before the COVID pandemic closed museums worldwide.

An independent report commissioned for the museum’s fifth birthday in September 2023 found V&A Dundee was directly responsible for a wide range of local and national impacts:

• Total economic impact of £304 million for Scotland, including £109 million for Dundee
• 500,000 people came to Dundee for the first time as part of trips to V&A Dundee
• Over 270,000 engagements with the community and learning programme since opening, including in-person events, digital workshops during lockdown, outreach in the city, and free design activities for children and families
• Almost 10,000 pupils, teachers and educators have engaged with the museum since opening, through a partnership with Dundee City Council
• Over 2,000 learning and community events and projects have taken place
• V&A Dundee contributed 1,685 jobs to Scotland, including 450 in Dundee, according to data from April to September 2023
• Dundee has continued to develop as a destination, with the city and its many visitor attractions welcoming 1.25 million visitors in 2022, up from 880,000 in 2017

V&A Dundee is part of the V&A family of museums, supported by Scottish Government and the founding partnership of V&A, Dundee City Council, the University of Dundee, Abertay University and Scottish Enterprise, as well as support from private fundraising and trusts.

V&A Dundee has worked with a range of charities and community organisations, including Alzheimer Scotland, Dundee Carers Centre, Dundee International Women’s Centre, Dundee Women’s Aid, Education Scotland and NHS Tayside, creating partnerships and events to make the museum accessible to everyone and to use design to improve lives. It has also worked with multiple designers and cultural organisations across Dundee, Scotland and around the world.

Design education and the participation of young people is at the heart of V&A Dundee. Before opening in 2018, the museum partnered with Dundee City Council on the Teacher Secondment Programme, enabling a teacher to be based full-time in the museum to work closely with the city’s schools, and also jointly created a Young People’s Collective for 14- to 24-year-olds to influence the museum’s development and learn about creative careers.

In 2023 every Dundee school visited V&A Dundee, including for guided tours of exhibitions, attending workshops, attending the Higher Art and Design Conference, holding a ‘Trashion Show’, and studying the STEM links the building has to offer. In addition, 15 nurseries enjoyed the ‘Get Set Yeti’ tours, specifically designed for early years children.