The Cateran Ecomuseum is a new ‘museum without walls’ in Eastern Perthshire and Western Angus.
Photo, courtesy of the Laing Photographic Collection
Set in the beautiful and dramatic landscapes of the area, (recently rebranded as Cateran Country), all of the Ecomuseum sites are outside.
Originating in France in the 1970’s, Ecomuseums focus on the identity of a place with the term “éco” being a shortened form for “écologie”. Still a relatively new concept, there are around 300 worldwide and only one other in Scotland, on Skye.
There are many variations of ecomuseums, with different emphases, but what they all share, is an idea of a place.
So instead of a traditional museum, which generally focuses on objects in a building, the museum becomes a place, the boundaries of which can be defined by archaeology, music, cultural traditions, language, biodiversity, ecosystems, geological structures and other attributes. As a result, it’s possible to take a much more holistic approach to heritage – the qualities, traditions, or features of a particular environment that have shaped life over many years – and to explore the intrinsic nature of each distinctive locality.
Two other characteristics of ecomuseums are the involvement of local people in their creation, development and management and the priority they give to ensuring regenerative community development including regenerative tourism.
We are just getting going, so keep coming back to the site to see how we are developing routes and itineraries that we’ve designed for you so that you can visit and enjoy the heritage of this beautiful part of Scotland!
We look forward to welcoming you!
