The numbers showing the benefits the V&A has brought to Dundee were impressive.
Generating £304 million for the Scottish economy from 1.7 million visits is good going. It means each visitor spent, on average, £179.
Mind you, I’d like a quantified breakdown of how that cash was spent in the city.
Interesting, too, was chair Tim Allan’s claim of “extensive outreach to our communities”.
Again, explain that. List exactly who has been reached and how.
But overall I admired the interviews from Tim and director Leonie Bell. They talked openly of successes and challenges. They were honest. I’ll be honest too.
Please accept the following as constructive criticism.
What do I want from V&A Dundee?
People interested in design will travel to visit. But they won’t be V&A regulars.
I’m the type of person you need. Mainly because I’m close at hand.
I enjoy displays, events, museums and all manner of things to do and see in the city. But you need to give me reasons to return.
So what do I want from the V&A?
I’m just a Dundee laddie from a long-gone Gellatly Street tenement. Am I an expert in design? No.
But will I be interested in displays about design? Yes – if you make them attractive and relevant.
To interest Dundonians give us points of reference. Because there’s little in the V&A that reflects my people, my city and my heritage.
The McManus Galleries, I love. It shows the achievements of Dundee folk.
I like Verdant Works even more, I get a lump in my throat to learn of the toils of my jute mill worker forefathers and foremothers. That’s why I keep going back.
I know you don’t aim to be a local museum but I think, in your desire to prove that, you’ve gone too far the other way.
The Tartan exhibition at the V&A is good. But the only thing in it that’s “of its place” is a Dundee FC strip.
Elsewhere, there is a similar dearth of local references.
It’s almost as if your curators have gone out of their way to pretend they’re not in DD1. You’re not embarrassed by us, are you?
In your shop a couple of t-shirts say “Dundee” but little else does.
If you’re selling a book about Greta Thunberg, you can surely have Dundee books too.
I can recommend some football nostalgia titles by an author I know quite well…
Show pride in Dundee
All Dundee aches for you to succeed. We want you to be a world-class museum projecting an image of our city that sparkles with art, design, and culture.
But I’ll whisper something politicians, donors, and arty types don’t mention at your polite cheese and wine soirees – we’re all a bit disappointed so far.
Why can’t you celebrate your setting a bit more? A few things, constantly changing of course, placed here and there? Every photo of Dundee on the news or in a tourism brochure features your building.
Show a little pride in Dundee in return for Dundee showing so much pride in you.
Conversation