We’re pleased to announce the latest recipients of the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, joining the 170 projects we’ve funded since 2011.
Grants offer up to £90k over around two years for outstanding ideas that that demonstrate the significance, distinctiveness and power of collections to people.
Here are December 2022’s successful grantees:
Birmingham Museums Trust, £89,990 for “Voices of the City”, a project to work intergenerationally with local people to co-curate an oral history archive and deliver an outreach programme raising awareness of the collection in Birmingham communities.
Horniman Museum & Gardens, £60,500 for “茶, चाय, Tea (Cha, Chai, Tea)”, a project to explore the global history of tea and address the colonial legacy of the Horniman, led by South Asian and East and South-East Asian community stakeholders and partners.
King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum, £53,363 for “Abyssinia: re-appraising the legacy of the King’s Own Royal Regiment”. A project aiming to work with members of the Ethiopian Community in North-West England to explore items relating to the Napier Expedition to Abyssinia 1867-68.
Museum of Cornish Life, £78,000 for “Farmers will like it: Documenting the undocumented agricultural workers of Cornwall” to work with contemporary farmers including seasonal workers to explore collections and reflect how farming has changed.
Museum of Hartlepool, £88,285 for “Stories from the Sea: Rebalancing the narratives of Hartlepool’s maritime and global heritage” to work with underrepresented groups to draw out hidden queer and colonial stories.
National Space Centre, £87,000 for “Space for Everyone: a pathway programme for young people experiencing an Alternative Education Provision” a project that uses the object collections and the context of space as a catalyst to enhance personal, social and life aspirations of young people from vulnerable backgrounds.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, £70,200 for “International Collections and the First Folio 400th Anniversary”, a project to work with underrepresented communities to explore the legacies of the first published collection of Shakespeare’s plays.
The Science and Industry Museum, £66,000 for “Cotton Connections: Global stories, local collections”, to work with people from Manchester’s global majority communities to tell previously underrepresented stories from the textiles industry collection.
Torfaen Museum Trust, £39,859 for “Tell Us A Story – Welcome to Your Torfaen”, a community-led collections review to highlight the objects and stories that local people think need to be shared.
