Fiona Hyslop confirms additional financial support
26 January 2012
Another £1.75 million of Government funding has been committed to the V&A at Dundee over the next three years, the Culture Secretary has announced.
It brings the total Scottish Government support for the project to more than £18 million, including the £15 million capital investment already confirmed.
The new revenue funding was announced by Fiona Hyslop today on a visit to Dundee’s waterfront where the new museum will be built. Preparatory work at the site began on Monday.
The Culture Secretary said:
“The V&A at Dundee is an international cultural project which has the potential to bring great benefits to the city and the whole of Scotland. It will attract visitors from all over the world and presents an opportunity to strengthen Dundee’s reputation as a centre for the creative industries.
“In the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, I am delighted to confirm the Scottish Government is making a further £1.75 million available to the V&A at Dundee. These additional funds will be used to support key activities associated with the project including programming exhibitions, developing education programmes, working with designers and creative practitioners, and fundraising.
“Our significant financial contribution will enable the V&A at Dundee – with its iconic waterfront building – to work towards opening in 2015, placing the project at the centre of Dundee’s regeneration.
“It is fantastic to see investigative work underway to prepare the site for construction. With employment in that sector in Scotland predicted to grow at nearly twice the UK average over the next few years, it is clear this Government’s decision to continue investing in capital projects such as this is paying dividends for jobs and the economy.”
Philip Long, Director of the V&A at Dundee, said:
\'We intend that V&A at Dundee will be an international centre of design for the widest public, housed in a world-class building at the heart of Dundee\'s developing waterfront. The Culture Secretary\'s announcement today assures that work can continue on the development of V&A at Dundee, from planning through to implementation and opening.
“V&A at Dundee will show major exhibitions of international design, celebrate our own design heritage, inspire and help develop contemporary talent, and encourage design innovation for the future. We are delighted to have the Scottish Government\'s continuing wholehearted support for this vision.\"
Background
Following the 2011 spending review, the Scottish Government confirmed it is making a total of £15 million capital available to the V&A at Dundee project towards the £45 million construction cost. In addition, £1.75 million revenue funding has been allocated from 2012-15. The V&A in Dundee has already received £1.511 interim support from the Scottish Government since 2010 – making a total of £18.261.
V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a ground-breaking partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum - the world’s greatest museum of art and design - and Dundee City Council, the Universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee, and Scottish Enterprise. The building is being designed by a team led by architects Kengo Kuma & Associates.
The Year of Creative Scotland began on January 1, 2012 and will spotlight and celebrate Scotland’s cultural and creative strengths on a world stage. Through a dynamic and exciting year-long programme of activity celebrating our world-class events, festivals, culture and heritage, the year puts Scotland’s culture and creativity in the international spotlight with a focus on cultural tourism and developing the events industry and creative sector in Scotland. More information about the programme can be found at: www.visitscotland.com/creative The Year of Creative Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL.
More information and resources to help businesses and organisations engage with Year of Creative Scotland are available at www.visitscotland.org/yearofcreativescotland-toolkit
Construction employment in Scotland projected to grow at nearly twice the UK average over 2012-2016 period according to figures published on 25 January, 2012 by the Construction Skills Network (CSN): http://www.cskills.org/uploads/CSN-Report-Scotland_tcm17-28586.pdf
