I just got back from a week in the beautiful Hebrides consulting with local community groups on early plans for the new Iolaire Centre. We met around a hundred islanders in 48 hours (and between us bought 5 pieces of knitwear – it was COLD).
Meeting people and trying to tease out in my head what the true social impact of a project should be is why I love my job. It’s chats about the reality of life that help you understand what a community needs; employable skills, a museum-run group that lessens someone’s feelings of loneliness, a dementia choir that makes someone feel they still have something to give that people want – these are some of the countless ways a museum can make people’s lives better in the humdrum of the every day. There’s no formula to getting to the solution other than committing to sitting down and listening.
And rainbows in the Hebrides have an extra shade of purple to the ones we see in London.
Stories for spaces
