'McDonald's' (detail) by James Furneaux
© James Furneaux (2002)
Aye, aye, fit like? (Hello, how are you?)
Whatever your connection to the city, you will have a view of Aberdeen. It might be 'far ye bide', or the place you’re 'chavvin awa' in. It might be somewhere you have discovered going 'oot n aboot', full of 'weel kent' things.
What is View of Aberdeen?
View of Aberdeen is a long-term project to ensure more people see their lives represented in the collection. We will collect people’s views of the city and objects that tell diverse stories about it. We hope to encourage as many people as possible to reflect on their experiences of Aberdeen, what the city is like today, and what it could be like in the future.
At regular intervals, we will update the View of Aberdeen exhibition in the Art Gallery with what we collect.
How to contribute your View of Aberdeen:
We want your views of Aberdeen and suggestions of objects associated with them. The View of Aberdeen exhibition focuses on four themes, please contribute to as many as you like.
'Mannofield from Torry' by Bill Baxter
© William Baxter (2008)
Far I Bide (Where I Live)
Where do you live or have stayed in the city? What scene or location sums up Aberdeen to you? What makes Aberdeen home to you?
Aberdeen Football Club commemorative pennant, 1980 (detail)
© CC BY-SA 4.0
Weel Kent (Well Known)
What do you think Aberdeen is, or should be well known for? What says ‘Aberdeen’ to you like nothing else?
Oot n Aboot (Out and About)
How do you experience the city? Where do you spend your leisure time? How safe and welcome do you feel here? Are the people friendly?
Street sweeper (Skaffie) outside St Nicholas House, Aberdeen, 1980s
Chavvin Awa (Working Hard)
What is it like to work in Aberdeen? Do you think there are stereotypical views of working life in Aberdeen?
Why are we doing this?
We want the museum collection to be a place for people to explore Aberdeen’s identity and culture, and its connections to the world – making Aberdeen a better place to live, work and visit. As the collection continues to grow, we will focus on collecting objects that relate to these priority areas taken from our Collection Development Policy. These are:
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT & LOCAL ECONOMY
Wellbeing and future prosperity will be influenced by the intersection between energy, environment, and economy. We will proactively collect to document the evolving experiences of society over the coming years of transition. We will look at Aberdeen City and its residents but also collect to reflect these experiences from further afield.
IDENTITY AND REPRESENTATION
It is important that our collections fairly and equitably reflect the society they emerge from. We will actively acquire objects – associated with existing areas of the collection – that enable us to represent the many forms of identity and reflect social and political change.
Click here more information on Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums Collection Development Policy.
