Perth Museum and Art Gallery is reopening its doors and welcoming back visitors on Saturday 1 August. Everyone at Culture Perth and Kinross are excitedly working to ensure a warm, friendly and safe welcome will greet visitors when doors open.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery will be introducing free ticketed entry, partnering up with Art Tickets by ArtFund. This bespoke system allows visitors to book a time slot for their visit in advance and will help manage the number of people in the building ensuring a pleasant visit for all.

To make the venue as accessible as possible for local residents and visitors from further afield, the museum will be operating with new opening hours: 10am – 12.30pm and 1pm – 4pm on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday with a late-night opening 5.30pm – 8.30pm every Thursday.

New and returning visitors will be encouraged to observe social distancing measures and the wearing of face masks is required. Visitor contact information will be requested when arriving at the Museum to support the Scottish Government’s Trace and Protect programme.

Hand sanitising units will be available for visitors use and a one-way system will guide you through the galleries at your own pace enabling you to enjoy the different galleries and displays including an exciting new exhibition to visit.

New Ways of Seeing: Scottish Art Schools will showcase the best of Perth Museum & Art Gallery’s permanent collection of modern and contemporary Scottish art. Each of the artists represented attended one of the four major art colleges in Scotland, Edinburgh College of Art, Glasgow School of Art, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee and Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen.

Many leading artists from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries will be featured, including Joan Eardley, Anne Redpath, John Byrne and Sir Robin Philipson.

The popular exhibitions ICONS II: John Bellany and Conservation in Action, which opened earlier this year, will be extended upon reopening. Discovering Ancient Egypt, a National Museums Scotland touring exhibition funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund will be on until 9 October.

Over the coming months, Culture Perth and Kinross will also be launching a programme of online events, talks and workshops, and providing increased access to collections material and learning resources.

Culture Perth and Kinross’ other venues, The Fergusson Gallery and Alyth Museum, will remain closed until further notice.

Helen Smout, Chief Executive said “We hope the reopening of the Museum, along with the opening up of the tourism sector locally will be a boost for the City, encouraging visitors to the City Centre to enjoy the significant collections we are so fortunate to have here in Perth. Our staff and volunteers have been working hard to develop a new exhibition for the opening for visitors to enjoy, as well as working on some innovative online programming content for those not able to visit in person which we are excited to share with you in the coming months. We all excited to see our first visitors return”

In preparation for the opening Perth Museum & Art Gallery has achieved the UK recognised “Good to Go” certification, managed and maintained in Scotland by Visit Scotland, the nation’s tourism body. Caroline Warburton, Regional Leadership Director (East) of VisitScotland said, “After a very difficult few months for local tourism, it is fantastic to see attractions in the city reopening and ensuring they can welcome visitors back in a safe and responsible way. The ‘Good to Go ‘certification aims to reassure visitors that attractions and other tourism businesses have done all the necessary checks and are adhering to nationwide guidelines. Perth Museum and Art Gallery is a key part of the city’s tourism offering so I’m delighted that people, from near and far, will be able to enjoy it once again. As tourism gradually reopens, we are asking visitors to ‘know before they go’; checking what is open and pre-booking if required. By following this advice and all working together, everyone can support the recovery of Scottish tourism which is so important to the city and local area.”

You can book a free ticket for Perth Museum & Art Gallery here.