The shows go on as museum prepares for £46m refit

Published on Wednesday 21 November 2007 01:00

NATIONAL Museums Scotland yesterday put a brave face on three years of closures at its flagship building as new details were revealed of the £46 million refit.

Gordon Rintoul, the NMS director, announced eight new exhibitions across five national museums, rather than "pause for breath" over work at the Royal Museum building in Edinburgh. "We look forward to a busy year," he said.

But the main Chambers Street exhibition space that housed recent shows on Pixar, the animation company, and Picasso's ceramic works, is set to close for three years next spring.

"Silver: Made in Scotland", is the last show on the site. It opens in January with 350 artefacts, from a communal drinking cup linked with Robert the Bruce to a teapot made for Billy Connolly. There is a 17th-century suit made of silver thread and a metre-high solid silver model of the Scott Monument.

Other exhibitions announced yesterday include "Hip Knits" at the National Museum of Costume in Dumfriesshire, when it reopens in March.

"Call to Arms" at the National War Museum traces life for Scots in battle, while "Jean Muir: A Fashion Icon" draws on the gift of a huge costume collection last year.

The Royal Museum's overhaul will see a new entrance hall at ground level in Chambers Street, with escalators and lifts to open up the little-visited upper halls. Musty back rooms will be refitted.

Architect Peter Wilson, of Napier University, who worked on the Museum of Scotland, completed in 1998 said:

"I don't think they will have a problem getting people back. They will want to see what has been done with something familiar."

The Royal Museum work will bring closures from 28 April, 2008, said a spokeswoman. "However, more than half will remain open to visitors."

The NMS also announced a new permanent gallery on the top floor, incorporating the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.

The exhibition is titled "Scotland: A Changing Nation". It replaces the 20th Century Gallery, where visitors were asked to choose representative objects of the century.

In February, "Your Museum is Changing" opens, an exhibition on how the revamped museum will look.