Orkney Museums Secure Funding Awards

That the Parliament congratulates Orkney Natural History Society and the Westray Heritage Centre on securing funding from Museums Galleries Scotland’s Recovery and Resilience Fund; understands that the fund aims to protect the future of Scottish independent museums following the severe loss of income they have experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic; recognises that Orkney Natural History Society was awarded £47,218 to safeguard and support a number of important aspects and initiatives at Stromness Museum, including for the reemployment of the Collections Development Team, to help create a new workspace and legacy programme and to purchase new equipment to support online engagement; further recognises that Westray Heritage Centre was awarded £3,500 to help it with the costs for essential window repairs; believes that both venues play vital roles in promoting Orkney’s rich and varied culture and history, and that these funding awards will provide them with some much-needed stability after what has been a challenging and uncertain year; thanks Museums Scotland for providing the support and pays tribute to all of the staff and volunteers at both venues who have worked hard to secure this important funding and who have gone to great lengths this year to ensure that their premises can open safely to the public and continue to offer their impressive exhibitions to the community, and wishes everyone involved at both Stromness Museum and Westray Heritage Centre all the best for 2021 and beyond.