Our Own Shows

Some of our past exhibitions have been curated by Shetland Museum and Archives staff, or have been on loan for special display from national or international institutions.

We are proud to have a facility capable of exhibiting high profile, exiting shows which gives people in Shetland the opportunity to see, firsthand, iconic artefacts and items which, although may not be specific to Shetland's heritage, are nonetheless very important - and popular. Exhibitions on local subjects curated by our staff are also very popular and well visited. Examples of these are below.

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40 Years of Art at Shetland Museum

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Armada Cannon

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Focus display of merchant bottles

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From Old Rock to New Life - Emigration Show

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The Lewis Chessmen

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High Seas and High Teas - an exhibition of tea trading

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Skaill Hoard

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Taatit Rugs

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Triceratops skull from the Hunterian Museum

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Writing the North partnership exhibition

Gunnister Man, in partnership with National Museums Scotland. September 2009.

Gayer-Anderson Cat, loaned from The British Museum. September 2012.

Skaill Hoard exhibition, in partnership with National Museums Scotland. July 2013.

Gentle Giant, dinosaur exhibition in parternship with The Hunterian Museum,University of Glasgow. September 2013.

Writing the North exhibition, in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Research Council, University of Edunburgh and Orkney Library. March 2014.

Blockade: 1914-1918. Self -curated exhibition on Shetlanders during WW1. August 2014.

Don McCullin Exhibition, in partnership with Shetland Arts, Artists Rooms, Tate and National Galleries Scotland. November 2014.

James Robertson map exhibition, in partnership with the National Library of Scotland. September 2015.

Tom Teasdale - ‘Sunny Intervals’

26/05/2018 - 24/06/2018
Foyer Corridor, Shetland Museum and Archives

A photographic exhibition commissioned by the cultural attaché of the European Commission in the UK. The London based photographer is exhibiting a collection of black and white photographs documenting aspects of living on some of the furthest reaches of the United Kingdom in Scotland, focusing on Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides.

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At Sea and Ashore

14/01/2017 - 26/02/2017
Da Gadderie

‘At Sea and Ashore’, is a showcase of four Shetland fishermen's own photographs.

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Berenice Carrington

30/06/2018 - 05/08/2018
Shetland Museum and Archive

Berenice graduated from Chelsea School of Art in 1983 with a 1st class hons degree in Sculpture, and in 1984 with an MA in Fine Art. In 1997 she gained a PhD in Anthropology, Women’s Studies and History from The Australian National University in Canberra.

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Anniversary Exhibitions

27/06/2016 - 11/09/2016
Foyer

40 years of Archives and 50 years of Museum artefacts in celebration of our anniversaries.

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Hjaltibonhoga – Shetland Fiddlers of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

26/07/2018 - 31/08/2018
Upper Foyer

This exhibition displays a small selection of the many gifts given to Hjaltibonhoga by fellow performers at the Tattoo and other international events. Also in the display are costumes and commemorative photographs.

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Miserabiles Personae - the Poor in Society

04/10/2018 - 18/11/2018
Da Gadderie

An exhibition showing how children and the poor existed in medieval Norway and Shetland, and how King Magnus Lawmender's new law code of 1274 affected society.

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Plastic: A never-ending story

20/06/2019 - 23/06/2019
Pier Store

Grioghair McCord and Claire Davenport invite you to a shopping experience you won't forget in a hurry!

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James Robertson - The Shetlander who mapped Jamaica

27/09/2015 - 22/11/2015

In a joint project with the National Library of Scotland, and supported by Museums Galleries Scotland, Shetland Museum and Archives staff will explore the life and work of James Robertson, a Shetlander who made the first detailed map of Jamaica.

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Portable Altars

28/06/2018 - 30/04/2019
Focus Display, Early Peoples Zone

Portable altars were marked with 5 crosses, depicting the wounds of Christ on the Cross. Some were made from wood with the relic cavity covered by a piece of recycled marble or porfido verde antico.

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