Partnership Working Opportunities for Business

A partnership from its outset, between Perth & Kinross Council and the UK government through the Tay Cities Region Deal, Perth Museum will be managed long term by Culture Perth and Kinross.

Once Perth Museum is open, Culture Perth and Kinross will build upon their engagement with the national and international travel trade market offering a dynamic programme of unique experiences for group and individual travellers.

In doing so, the Museum is marking Perth and Kinross as an outstanding tourist destination and contributing to the ongoing creation of itineraries by Scotland’s Tay Country, a collaborative venture between the local authorities of Perth & Kinross, Dundee, Angus and Fife together with VisitScotland.

Councillor Grant Laing, Leader of Perth & Kinross Council, said “The Perth Museum project has always been a collaboration, with key partners working together to ensure that the ambitious vision for the city, and the economic potential, is fully realised.

“A landmark attraction, the significant increase in visitors from across the UK and internationally offers real opportunity for retail, hospitality, and other tourism businesses, both in the city centre and further afield. Importantly, it presents a compelling reason for new business and inward investment.”

With the opening of Perth Museum in March 2024, Culture Perth and Kinross has launched a range of sponsorship packages for both local and national brands. Sponsorship will further extend the reach and impact of the venue by assisting in:

• Developing the region as a vibrant tourist attraction, generating over £25m return of investment into the area over 10 years.

• Unlocking the impact of local heritage – improving wellbeing and addressing inequalities for everyone who visits.

• Preserving over 500,000 objects held by Perth Museum.

• Enabling Culture PK to develop a schools and learning programme.

• Creating jobs and career development opportunities.

Benefits of sponsoring include:

Opportunities to Promote Your Brand

• Embedding your brand within high-footfall spaces relevant to your customers.

• Crediting you in our direct and digital marketing campaigns, including outdoor signage.

• Support-in-kind for themed events and activities relevant to your target audiences.

Media Profiling

• Inclusion in social media campaigns and the online platform.

• Credit throughout social media and local press.

• Quotes from your business where relevant in the media.

Corporate Hospitality and Employee Benefits

• Opportunities for corporate venue hire.

• Complimentary tickets to blockbuster exhibitions and events.

• Exclusive group behind-the-scenes tours and talks.

Contact Robin Patel, Fundraising Officer, to learn more: rmpatel@culturepk.org.uk / 01738 444949 / perthmuseum.co.uk

Building on Perth’s UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art Award

Jackie Brierton, CEO of GrowBiz, on why we should embrace our Creative, Independent and Cultural sectors.

As we look towards the opening of the new Museum in March 2024, much has been made of the potential it will deliver into Perth city centre and the surrounding areas. Set to generate around 133,000 visitors each year – thanks in no small part to the successful endeavours that secured the return of the Stone of Destiny to Perth – the Museum presents a very real opportunity for Perth & Kinross to become a centre of excellence for creatives and culture. I say this, because, of course, the foundations are already here.

In November 2021, Perth was awarded UNESCO status as the UK’s only Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art. This placed us into a global network of cities, opening doors for local artists and makers to showcase themselves on an international stage and setting a benchmark for quality that stretches beyond UK borders.

The award will strengthen existing creative networks like Perthshire Open Studios, Perth Creative Exchange and Perthshire Artisans, a curated platform of creatives launched by GrowBiz Scotland in 2020. To date, we have supported over 300 creative businesses in Perth & Kinross and supported the launch of initiatives such as the areawide Creative Trail and Open Studios Festival in September.

By their nature, makers and artisans are often sole trader operations faced with the significant and unique challenges of making and selling at the same time. From a practical standpoint, the Museum offers a new route to market through permanent exhibitions of local artists’ work, a busy gift shop, and a steady stream of national and international customers.

GrowBiz provides a range of information and enterprise support services for small and micro businesses in rural Perth & Kinross and across Scotland. It is recognised that rural businesses have a unique set of challenges on an ongoing basis, and this community-based, enterprise support service aims to deliver specific expertise in overcoming these barriers. It encourages connections and collaboration through the Rural Enterprise Directory Scotland – REDS.

Culture and creativity have a huge overlap and interlink particularly well. Both sectors are diverse, inclusive and are driven by passionate individuals.

A venue such as Perth Museum has the potential to pull everyone together, in one exciting and inspiring space for performers, artisans and musicians. The opportunity then, for cross-fertilisation of art, music, history, digital, workshops and education, means we can breathe new life into our historic city.

When combined, international links, a broader creative/cultural approach, peer-to-peer support, and the provision of a retail outlet, will undoubtedly go a long way to fuelling the ongoing ambitions of this vibrant sector. From here, I’d expect to see growth in demand for shop fronts and workshops giving us an opportunity to build on the successful independent business story, and to encourage artisans to make and sell from their own space.

It’s a simple fact that when people see success, they want to be part of it. We speak to our networks of enterprises all the time, and we know that the environment in which they live and work is crucial to their creative process and sense of pride; is there any place more inspiring than Perth & Kinross for creating exactly this?