National Galleries of Scotland: ‘We’ll work more with communities'

She is also a Scot – having come “all the way” from Clydebank to Edinburgh via 18 years at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles where she rose to the role of associate curator.

Lyden takes over in January from the capable hands of Sir John Leighton, at a time that is both exciting and challenging. The biggest challenge is financial but she told the Sunday National that having had the chance to explore Scotland’s free museums and galleries when she was a child, she is determined to do everything possible to make sure they are as accessible in the future as they are now.

“There is a real commitment in retaining a free offer in all of our sites,” she said. “As a child who benefited from free admission, it is obviously something close to my heart – although the reality is that the financial landscape is a very challenging one.

“We will have to work with Scottish Government and the sector as a whole to see what viable answers there are for the future. I am confident there will be a way forward as it [charging admission] is a decision that has to be taken very seriously and I don’t believe anyone wants to rush into anything like that, especially where there has been such a successful model of free entry up until now.”

Going to Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow on a school trip when she was little is one of Lyden’s (above)  earliest memories and began her passion for museums and galleries.

“I remember thinking this place was amazing and so incredible. That was really the start of a lifelong love of museums and galleries,” she said.

Trips to museums with her family and friends continued and on leaving school, Lyden studied for an art history degree at Glasgow University, volunteering in the city’s museums in her spare time.

“It was one thing to study art but another to understand what was involved in the day-to-day working in museums and galleries but the passion I had only grew stronger,” she explained.

She followed her undergraduate degree with a Masters in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, then applied for an internship at the Getty Museum where she wanted to work with its internationally important photographic collection.

“Of all the collections I had experience of in Glasgow, I hadn’t really had a hands-on experience with a photographic collection and so I managed to secure an internship at the Getty Museum. It was meant to be for nine months – and I laugh when I think about this – but I ended up being there for 18 years, working my way up through the department.”

Although based in Los Angeles, Lyden’s speciality was 19th-century British photography so she was a frequent visitor to the UK for research and was well aware of the importance of the collection belonging to the National Galleries of Scotland.

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“I had consulted it and even borrowed from it for exhibitions I had mounted in Los Angeles so there has always been that connection and when the position opened up to head up the photography collection, I decided this was something I really wanted to do,” said Lyden. “I knew how important the collection was and how strong it was in terms of Scottish photography. This was a particular area I was passionate about and had written about. It was like coming home.”

That was 2013 and in the decade following, Lyden became chief curator for photography, then interim co-director for collection and research.

She is well aware of the significance of her appointment as the first female director at the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) which encompass Edinburgh’s major public galleries – National, Portrait and Modern.

“There are other females in leading positions in the art sector in Scotland so I am joining that cohort but based on the comments I have received from well-wishers in the last week, it is important for a lot of people,” said Lyden. “That is what is so thrilling about this opportunity – it is that potential for change and becoming part of that cohort is really quite an honour.”

She added: “I am stepping into this at a significant moment because of the care, attention and leadership John has shown over the last 17 years. What he has achieved is impressive and to step into that is exciting and thrilling.”

The "paramount" caring and sharing

Priorities for Lyden include caring and sharing the collection with the people of Scotland and beyond.

“That is paramount,” she said. “I am interested in taking that even further and really going deeper into our commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion and what that means for us as an arts organisation in the 21st century in Scotland.

“We need to understand that there are other histories, other stories and other viewpoints within the art we hold and that it is not just something that can be seen from one particular viewpoint that may privilege a white perspective. There is a lot of nuance and complex history that we should not be afraid to research and share with our audiences.

“Our audiences too are changing; so it is also about understanding how people connect with art, what they want to see, what they know and how they can inform us, as it is not a one-way street but very much a two-way dialogue. It means working more with communities up and down the country as we have a national remit and we are not just for communities in Edinburgh.”

With a growing ageing population in Scotland, Lyden believes it is important to consider their needs and interests as well as cater for younger audiences who are maybe not getting all the art provision in schools that they would like.

“We will be looking at where we can we assist with that, given our amazing collection from the 1300s to now,” she said. “Our aim is to reach everybody. Art can often be seen as quite an elitist experience but we all know it is not, as it is something we enjoy from when we are very young. We are working on what we can do to make it a lifelong engagement for people.”

In the wake of Lyden’s appointment, it was also announced last week that Edinburgh City Council had granted planning permission for NGS’s development project in north Edinburgh. Called The Art Works, it will offer community spaces and at last a permanent home to the many thousands of NGS artworks stored in various places across the city.

“It’s not easy for people to get in and see our collections stores at the moment but our new facility will be a very different experience which will a put a spin on how people see the collection,” said Lyden.

“Anyone will be able to make an appointment to come and see work that is not on display, and with the community hub spaces, it really will be a vibrant part of the city.”