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Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 12pm - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

Timespan

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Timespan is a cultural organisation in Helmsdale, a village in the very north east of Scotland

13/10/2026

Timespan (Timespan ) is working with the architecture collective Assemble (Assemble ) on the museum’s first redisplay in ten years, marking Timespan’s 40th anniversary.

Through our collection, we’ll share the social and environmental histories of Helmsdale and the surrounding area, bringing overlooked stories into view and exploring connections across the Highlands, Scotland and the wider world.

Inspired by Walter Benjamin’s idea of constellations, we’ll bring objects, archives, artworks and community memories into relation across time and place. These connections will reveal how landownership, labour, colonialism and extraction have shaped local lives, alongside knowledge, care, resistance and collective action.

Building on the social and environmental justice commitments of Timespan’s programme, the display will invite us to revisit the past, reflect on the present and reclaim possibilities for more just futures.

Opening 3 April 2027, alongside Timespan’s new website and visual identity by Polytechnic (Polytechnic ).

Supported by Museums Galleries Scotland’s Museum Development Fund (Museums Galleries Scotland )

09/10/2026

📣 We’re hiring a Venue & Operations Manager!

Join Timespan in Helmsdale and help keep our museum and cultural organisation safe, accessible and welcoming. You’ll care for our building, support exhibitions and events, and line-manage our Front of House assistants.

We’re looking for someone practical, resourceful and collaborative, with experience in venue operations, supervising people and coordinating maintenance.

📍 Helmsdale
🕒 20 hours per week, worked across five days on site
💷 £16,000 per annum (£32,000 full-time equivalent)
📅 Fixed term until 31 March 2028

Apply by 5pm on 30 October 2026.

Full job pack and application details: https://timespan.org.uk/about/opportunities/

We welcome applications from people underrepresented in the cultural sector and are happy to make adjustments to the recruitment process.

09/10/2026

WILD LIGHT LAUNCH 🌟🌳🌎🌊
Saturday 10 October, Timespan, Helmsdale
10-1: WILD LIGHT: ATTENTION (film workshop, book your place)
2–4pm: WILD LIGHT: LAUNCH (open to all)
WILD LIGHT: Attention, Meaning and Reality arrives at Timespan in Helmsdale. Filmmaker and educator Robert Aitken will launch this new creative field guide series - inspired by the landscapes, people and wild edges of the far north Highlands.
Join us for an afternoon of slowing down, looking closer & noticing what is already there.:
📖 Readings from Cáit O'Neill McCullagh & Caithness Makar George Gunn
📸 'One Image One Story' synopsis session
🎥 Complimentary mobile filmmaking kit
🌊 An introduction to the ideas behind WILD LIGHT
Timespan Museum and Arts Centre, Helmsdale
Contact: [email protected] or call 01431821327
Brora Heritage
Golspie Heritage Society
Dunbeath Heritage Museum
Historylinks Museum, Dornoch, Sutherland
Helmsdale, Land of The Helmies
Robert Aitken

07/10/2026

It's that time of year again 😱

Meet outside Timespan at 6:30pm to join a procession of ghosts and ghouls as our storyteller, Lorna Jappy, leads you through an evening of terrifying tales and spooky stories

Fancy dress very much encouraged!
😉 🐈‍⬛ 🎃 🧛‍♂️ 👻 🧟‍♀️

03/10/2026

📣 Come and work with us at Timespan!

We’re inviting applications from artists and creative practitioners for a 15-month residency in Helmsdale, through the Caithness & Sutherland Culture Collective.

£26,460 total fee · Three days a week · Starting November/December 2026

Develop your practice and pursue research connected to land, labour, ecology, extraction, migration or social justice, through meaningful engagement with Helmsdale, its people and histories.

We welcome a wide range of practices, including visual art, writing, sound, performance, craft, living heritage, artistic research and food-based creative practice.

You must live or work in Caithness or Sutherland, or demonstrate a meaningful connection to the area - which can include research rooted here. Regular in-person work in Helmsdale is required.

⏰ Apply by 5pm on Thursday 15 October 2026.

Full brief and how to apply:
https://lytharts.org.uk/what-we-do/culture-collective-artist-call-out/

Please share with anyone who might be interested!

01/10/2026

Are you an artist based in Caithness or Sutherland, or meaningfully connected to the area and its communities? Apply for a 15-month residency at Timespan through the Caithness & Sutherland Culture Collective.

💷 £26,460 · Three days per week
⏰ Deadline: 5pm, Thursday 15 October 2026

At this link you can find more information about the call:https://lytharts.org.uk/what-we-do/culture-collective-artist-call-out/

18/09/2026

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘🌍💥🔍📱🎬
FILM WORKSHOP & LAUNCH
Saturday 10 October
𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺–𝟭𝗽𝗺: 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (Booking required)
Participate in a hands-on, creative field guide session using your mobile phone.
Bookings: [email protected] or 01431 821327
𝟮𝗽𝗺–𝟰𝗽𝗺: 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 (Open to all)
You are invited to the launch of our new filmmaking field guide, featuring the One Image One Story workshop and a guest appearance by poet Cáit O' Neill McCullagh.

Filmmaker Robert Aitken will present the launch of
WILD LIGHT FILM GUIDE: Attention, Meaning & Reality, featuring a day of fieldwork and creative activities focused on the significance of storytelling in the North Highlands.
The morning session has limited capacity and early registration is recommended. The afternoon session is open to all participants.

THE EVENT IN MORE DETAIL...

10am–1pm | WILD LIGHT: Attention
What happens when you slow down enough to see? Explore this question in a new creative field guide experience with hands-on exploration and studio guidance. If you enjoy walking, writing, photographing, filming, storytelling, or simply paying closer attention to the world around you, this session is for you.
- Field guide tutorials and practical tips
- Creative challenges
- Camera-Phone Filmmaking notes
- Complimentary WILD LIGHT zine
* Limited places, book early

2pm–4pm | WILD LIGHT Launch
Join us for the launch of the new WILD LIGHT Field Guide Series.
- Special guest: Cáit O' Neill McCullagh
- ‘One Image One Story’ workshop
- Displays
- Complimentary WILD LIGHT Filmmaking Kit
* Open to all

Bookings: [email protected] · 01431 821327

Helmsdale, Land of The Helmies
Brora Heritage
Golspie Heritage Society
Dunbeath Heritage Museum
Sutherland
Museums and Heritage Highland
Strathnaver Museum
Caithness.Org

17/09/2026

We’re delighted to announce that Polytechnic has been selected to develop Timespan new visual identity and website.

Following an open tender process, Polytechnic stood out for a distinctive, site-specific approach rooted in Helmsdale.
Their proposal combined strong typographic and editorial thinking with a sophisticated approach to content architecture, accessibility and digital archives.

We’re excited to get started and share more as the project develops!

The project is funded by Museums Galleries Scotland through the Unlocking Potential programme.

Image: Plan of Helmsdale Allotments, Eatate Maps, 1750s-1900s

Address

Dunrobin Street
Helmsdale
KW86JA

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	12pm - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+441431821327

Website

http://www.timespan.org.uk/

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