The Hunterian has recently announced a £249,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to carry out a crucial scoping project that will shape the future of our public-facing venues on the University of Glasgow campus, the Hunterian Museum and Hunterian Art Gallery.

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The Changing Museum

The Hunterian is thrilled to receive a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund which will help us to understand what The Hunterian of the future might look like.

Unlocking Our Potential

The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow opened in 1807, making it Scotland’s oldest public museum. For over 250 years, our collection has been used to help change the way that people think.

Today, we see the huge potential of our collections, stories and spaces – in our complex world, we need places where people can think critically and build an understanding of the world and one another.

The Hunterian can be that place, but first we need to reimagine our public venues and transform our spaces to make them more relevant, welcoming and accessible.

What’s the plan?

The project ‘Unlocking the Potential of The Hunterian: The Changing Museum’ has two parts that will help us understand what is needed to achieve our vision.

The first part of the project will look at the buildings themselves and what is required to safeguard them for the future. The University of Glasgow has committed to fund a comprehensive buildings survey which will highlight the necessary redevelopment work.

Support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will enable us to carry out the second part of the project which will consider what happens inside the buildings, creating a clear pathway to get us from where we are now to where we want to be.

Participation is key and our audiences will have a central role in defining what The Hunterian will be for the next generation.

What happens after the project?

Completion of ‘Unlocking the Potential of The Hunterian’ will allow us to develop a future bid to fund the redevelopment work needed to upgrade the buildings. Our vision is a long-term one, and this project is one step of our journey.

The Hunterian of the future will be transformed. Our founding principle – to help people learn and understand – will be reimagined, opening up our venues and collections in ethical and equitable ways.

The Hunterian Museum and Hunterian Art Gallery will be welcoming, accessible and a ‘must-see’ for the University community, Glaswegians and national and international visitors alike.

Will the venues close as part of this project?

There will be no closures as part of this initial scoping project.

At a future time when we progress to a full redevelopment of the venues, yes – they will close. But at this stage we don’t know when this could be. Part of the reason for this project is to understand how much a redevelopment would cost and how long it might take, both to raise the necessary funds and to carry out the work itself.

Are there design plans we can see?

No – they don’t exist! This project is about doing lots of research to understand how we would plan for a redevelopment of our venues. Even at the end of the project period (mid-2026) we won’t have detailed design plans, but we will share updates about the project throughout 2025-26.

Join us on our journey

From January 2025, The Hunterian will be running a series of information workshops and focus groups as part of the ‘Unlocking the Potential of The Hunterian: The Changing Museum’.

We will also be recruiting a Community Panel. If you would like to register your interest, please sign up to our mailing list.

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