Argyll Aspires 2022-24
Argyll Aspires (2022-2024) is an innovative apprenticeship and training scheme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by Argyll and Bute Council education and economic development services. Argyll Aspires built on evidence of the need to develop opportunities in the museums and heritage sector for young people across Argyll and Bute, drawn from the evaluation of an earlier CHARTS project, Heritage Horizons (2021-2022), developed with the Argyll and Bute Museums and Heritage Forum.
Argyll Aspires successfully offered young people in Argyll routes to employment through paid traineeships, apprenticeships, school projects, and outreach activities, providing skills development and qualifications and engaging 1042 direct beneficiaries.
"Creating access to heritage for young people is important to CHARTS, as a member-guided charity, supporting cultural development across Argyll and Bute. Our membership of around 700 individuals and practitioners, including those working in museums and heritage organisations, helps us understand demographic and sector needs." Kathleen O'Neill, Director
Responses to why we need access to Art
Trainees Visit To Dunollie: Donald MacDougall, Khara MacPhail, Castle Staff, Shannen Calderwood
Dawn ‘til Dusk
Christina Young explains in more depth about conservation requirements on painting ‘Cutting Wood’ by Sam Ntiro
Christina Young explains Technical Art Conservation to senior school pupils
Donald MacDougall
Key achievements
Argyll Aspires project featured in two UK case studies: Scottish Archives and Records Year in Review 2022-2023 (page 16) and 32nd edition of Group for Education in Museums UK case studies (page 28).
The Argyll Aspires team engaged young people with The Argyll Collection, a unique group of over 170 artworks, first established sixty years ago as a learning resource for school pupils in Argyll, currently situated within Argylls schools and libraries. In Spring 2023, secondary school pupils from Rothesay Academy curated an exhibition, 'Dawn 'til Dusk', of selected works at Mount Stuart. The experience provided school pupils with curatorial skills and access to heritage professionals to produce a learning resource from which other young people throughout the area can benefit.
Argyll Aspires provided a 4-month Exhibition Research Traineeship hosted at Dunoon Burgh Hall, allowing one young person to curate and develop an exhibition using The Argyll Collection. To find out more about this work and the exhibition 'Awaken, The Argyll Collection', visit The Argyll Collection Traineeship. Work with the Argyll Collection is now being continued through The Argyll Collection, Reconnected, a CHARTS-led project funded by Art Fund to review the cultural significance of the collection.
For more information, see case studies in our full report here.
If you want to learn more, please contact Argyll Aspires info@chartsargyllandisles.org
Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by Argyll and Bute Council, Live Argyll, Museums Galleries Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.
