Museum improvement fund relaunched
Rebecca Atkinson, 18.02.2011
DCMS and Wolfson Foundation pledge £8m over next four years
The Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund has today been relaunched to improve displays, increase access and enhance public spaces.
The fund, which awarded £28m to 217 projects between 2001 and its last allocation in August 2009, is equally funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Wolfson Foundation. It was suspended in the current financial year for assessment ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey announced today that the fund would hold two bidding rounds in the 2011-15 spending review period, each awarding £4m. The fund previously paid out £4m annually.
The first round of funding will open to bids in April 2011.
“The DCMS/Wolfson Fund is an excellent example of what can be achieved when public funds are matched with private philanthropy and I am extremely pleased that we have been able to secure its future,” Vaizey said.
“It is often the major, one-off philanthropic donations that make the headlines, but the myriad of grants and improvements that the fund supports are just as vital to museums and galleries and the Wolfson Foundation is equally deserving of our gratitude.”
Past awards include a local history gallery for Birmingham Museum and Art gallery; refurbishment of the Bovington Tank Museum; and improved access to the Natural History Museum at Tring (pictured).
A short film about the Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund
The fund, which awarded £28m to 217 projects between 2001 and its last allocation in August 2009, is equally funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Wolfson Foundation. It was suspended in the current financial year for assessment ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey announced today that the fund would hold two bidding rounds in the 2011-15 spending review period, each awarding £4m. The fund previously paid out £4m annually.
The first round of funding will open to bids in April 2011.
“The DCMS/Wolfson Fund is an excellent example of what can be achieved when public funds are matched with private philanthropy and I am extremely pleased that we have been able to secure its future,” Vaizey said.
“It is often the major, one-off philanthropic donations that make the headlines, but the myriad of grants and improvements that the fund supports are just as vital to museums and galleries and the Wolfson Foundation is equally deserving of our gratitude.”
Past awards include a local history gallery for Birmingham Museum and Art gallery; refurbishment of the Bovington Tank Museum; and improved access to the Natural History Museum at Tring (pictured).
A short film about the Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund
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