There was a lot of cultural buzz and drama in Dundee last week – good and bad.
The V&A Dundee celebrated its fifth anniversary at the weekend, opening its brand-new permanent exhibition Stories from the Building, which looks at the construction and development of the museum from 2015 all the way to the grand opening in 2018.
This new exhibition aims to respond to visitor feedback because there is no denying that there has been criticism of the empty space in the museum’s foyer for quite some time.
It is the one thing I keep hearing from people when I bring up the museum.
Visit to V&A Dundee
I went along to the press launch on Friday morning where I met director Leonie Bell and it was wonderful to see this new exhibition.
In his column last week, Steve Finan said there needs to be more focus on Dundee in the museum – and I completely agree with him.
As much as the V&A is Scotland’s design museum, it needs to be Dundee’s design museum too.
And as I previously stated, I believe there should be a Dundee Design Gallery, celebrating the City of Discovery’s relationship with design.
But the V&A Dundee has changed the city for the better. It has undeniably put Dundee on the international cultural map.
Is there room to improve? Undoubtedly.
Yet with Tartan, and the new Stories from the Building exhibition, the museum is listening to the people.
While the celebrations were in full swing at the V&A, this wasn’t the case with Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA).
We should cherish DCA
Last week director Beth Bate revealed it could face the thread of closure amid “unimaginable financial precarity”.
Back in October last year, I wrote a piece on how we should cherish the DCA.
That column came off the back of the closure of the Edinburgh Filmhouse and the Belmont Filmhouse, both of which are getting closer to reopening.
While there is no immediate danger to the DCA, the influx of attention towards the organisation’s situation highlights the importance of cultural venues to our local community.
We should cherish the DCA and push for greater government support.
Seeing the Discovery Film Festival and the gallery exhibitions cut from the venue would be a real shame.
If the threat of closure intensifies, I will be there campaigning to help keep the doors open.
In the short term, however, I would encourage everyone to go to the DCA.
This fantastic cultural institution needs you and it will be a devastating loss to Dundee if it goes.
Conversation