Dundee's V&A museum to star in Milan showcase

DUNDEE'S new V&A museum is to represent the UK at a showcase of international design next month '“ two years before it opens its doors.

The Dundee V&A.

Its forthcoming show has been announced on the same day that Dundee was named one of the top ten “hippest places to live in Britain”.

It became the UK’s first Unesco City of Design at the end of 2014, along with Bilbao, Spain; Curitiba, Brazil; Helsinki, Finland and Turin, Italy.

Dundee’s Milan show will feature a comic strip created for the new museum, which is taking shape at the heart of the city’s £1 billion waterfront regeneration.

Created by comic illustrator Will Morrison and graphic designer David Mackenzie for the site of the museum, “Adventures in Design” charts the story of design innovation in the UK and showcases world-leading fashion, textiles and gaming products.

The exhibition will also feature a showcase of Harris Tweed, along with Genes in Space – a new computer game designed in partnership by Dundee firm Guerilla Tea and charity Cancer Research UK, which experts believe could help in the fight against the disease.

Dundee’s presence at the event – which will run for more than five months in venues across the Italian city – is being backed by the British Council and the Scottish Government, which created a year-long celebration of architecture and design for 2016.

Philip Long, director of V&A Dundee, said: “The UK is a globally important nation of design, both historically and today. We’re delighted to be given the opportunity to represent the UK at this leading international celebration of design and would like to thank the British Council and the Scottish Government for their support in this.”

Dundee’s involvement with the Milan Design Triennale has been announced weeks after the government confirmed it would be ploughing an additional £20 million into the attraction.

The deal plugged the last remaining funding gap for the long-delayed museum, which is expected to attract around 300,000 visitors a year.

Scottish culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said Dundee’s presence at the Milan Design Triennale would provide “the perfect opportunity” to showcase Scotland’s creativity.