Applications open for £4m museum improvement fund

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund has opened for applications from regional museums.

The £4m funding is available to support regional museums and galleries to ensure collections are more accessible to the public. The deadline to apply is 14 November.

The partnership between the Wolfson Foundation charity and DCMS is part of the government’s ongoing commitment to “ensure everyone, everywhere has access to arts and culture”. 

The £4m DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund is made up of £2m in match funding and provides support to improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors.

In the previous round of funding, organisations including People’s History Museum in Manchester received over £200,000 for its Welcome Project, which focused on key improvements to the building as identified in an independent access audit.

In line with the museum’s commitment to improving access for all, the project installed a new accessible front door, full toilet renovation including installation of a changing places facility, accessible furniture and updated all signage around the museum. 

The Food Museum in Suffolk received more than £89,000 in funding for the Abbot’s Hall estate and its listed gardens, which feature a canal with an early 18th-century fishing lodge.

The lodge had been inaccessible to visitors since the 1990s due to the deteriorating condition of the access bridge. With support from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, the museum built a new bridge that allows visitors to access the island.

Experience Barnsley Museum used over £37,000 of funding from the previous round for their Chamber of Treasures project, which transformed an underused space in the permanent main gallery with new displays and interpretation of social history collections created with Barnsley’s communities.

The project improved access and interpretation for people with disabilities to enhance visitor experiences, whilst improving care of the collection.

Over the last 20 years, more than 440 projects have benefitted from over £50m in funding. 

Arts minister Chris Bryant said: “We want everyone, everywhere to be able to enjoy culture and the arts – and this fund helps us achieve that mission. It is a great example of combining public funding with private philanthropy to help deliver on our Plan for Change by ensuring that people who may find accessing museums and galleries difficult have the opportunity to enjoy the incredible collections we have on offer in this country.”

Paul Ramsbottom, the chief executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said: “Museums and galleries play a vital role in deepening our understanding of the past and our shared culture.

“For over 20 years we have worked with DCMS to support museums and galleries as they improve access and enable more visitors to discover, understand and enjoy our country’s remarkable collections. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with this new round of funding.”