Timespan

Timespan occupies a riverside site on Dunrobin Street in Helmsdale, combining a local history museum with a contemporary art gallery, archive, café and shop. The organisation was established in 1986 and opened to the public the following year, initially as a heritage centre covering the herring fishing industry, the Highland Clearances, the 1869 Kildonan gold rush and the area's Pictish and witch-trial history; its collection includes the Borrobol Stone. In recent years Timespan has expanded its contemporary art programme, commissioning roughly four exhibitions a year on subjects including land reform, climate and post-colonial history, alongside community cinema screenings, reading groups and a youth library. The site includes the River Café, a shop and a herb garden, and the building is midway through a phased redevelopment. Timespan is a registered Scottish charity and operates as a single, independent site rather than part of a larger museum network.