December 2022 Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund awardees

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.

Apply now

We’ve changed the award criteria for 2023 as the fund evolves to better serve the needs of the sector. If you have an idea for a project, the next deadline to submit an expression of interest is 5 April 2023. We strongly advise potential applicants to contact us prior to submission to talk through your idea – please contact sarah@museumsassociation.org.