Cromarty Museum launches outdoor gallery project with support from the Port of Cromarty Firth

Cromarty Museum has announced new support from the Port of Cromarty Firth (POCF) Community Sponsorship Programme to help deliver their outdoor gallery exhibition, creating a new exhibition space celebrating the town’s nationally significant built and maritime heritage.

The project will transform the under utilised front garden of the museum into a mini destination within Church Street, providing visitors with an engaging heritage experience even when the museum building is closed. The outdoor gallery will feature interpretation panels highlighting six Cromarty heritage sites and stories, alongside commissioned artwork from a local artist inspired by the town’s maritime history.

Funding from the Port of Cromarty Firth will contribute towards research and curatorial work, the design and production of outdoor interpretation boards, commissioned artwork, seating, visitor monitoring equipment, and exhibition installation materials.

The outdoor exhibition has been designed to encourage more visitors to explore Cromarty’s heritage while supporting the wider local tourism economy. By creating a flexible visitor attraction accessible throughout the day, the museum hopes to strengthen links between local heritage sites, cafés, businesses, and visitor experiences across the Cromarty Firth area.

As part of the project, Cromarty Museum will install a people counter to better understand visitor numbers and measure the economic impact of the museum on the local area. The museum will also work with partners including the Friends of Cromarty Harbour and the University of Aberdeen during the research process.

The project aims to preserve and share the stories that matter most to local people, while creating a new welcoming public space where visitors and residents can engage with Cromarty’s built and maritime history.

Freya Samuel, Digital Curator at Cromarty Museum, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Port of Cromarty Firth for helping us fund the outdoor gallery. As we are currently navigating a capital redevelopment process, this outdoor interpretation will be vital to keep visitors to the town engaged with our extraordinary heritage during our potential closure, as well as throughout the off season.

“The outdoor gallery will be themed around key built and maritime heritage in the Cromarty townscape as part of our interpretation strategy to take the museum beyond the walls. Visitors will be encouraged to visit several exciting sites throughout the town that do not receive interpretation elsewhere in Cromarty. This will form a key part of our offering of self-guided tours of the town, alongside our existing ‘Built on Slavery’ walking tour and our ‘Fisherfolk of Cromarty’ walking tour, which is coming soon.”

Alex Campbell, Chief Executive at the Port of Cromarty Firth, said: “We are pleased to support Cromarty Museum’s outdoor gallery exhibiton through our community sponsorship programme. The project will help celebrate and preserve the rich heritage of the Cromarty Firth area while creating a valuable new visitor experience for the community and tourists alike.”

The museum will share updates on the development of the outdoor gallery as work progresses.

The Community Sponsorship Programme aspires to improve, safeguard and develop Cromarty Firth communities, for the benefit of local people.

Community projects, schools or local charities based in one of the nine communities that border the Cromarty Firth are welcome to apply for support. They can do so by submitting an application form stating the project’s objectives, aspirations and the benefits to the community, along with a letter/email of support from their local Community Council.

Projects must be collaborative and meet one of four eligibility criteria:

• Skills development, employability or job creation,
• Vessel crew or passenger support,
• Environmental protection or enhancement,
• Events or projects which encourage inter-community collaboration.
  
  Application forms are available on the Port of Cromarty Firth website or from cfpa@cfpa.co.uk.