The largest object on display at Pontypridd Museum is to be brought back to life with the help of a £150,000 Welsh Government grant.
The 1910 Conacher Pipe Organ, currently in a poor state of repair and almost unplayable, will be restored after the museum received support from the new £3m Priorities for Culture fund, which launched earlier this year to provide enhanced support for local museums, libraries and archives.
The project will see the organ repaired to play on demand through a digitally controlled trigger that allows a recital to be recorded and then played back without an organist being present. The feature has been installed in organs at just a few leading venues around the world, including Canterbury Cathedral and York Minster in the UK.
Pontypridd Museum is one of 18 local museums to benefit from the funding, along with six archive projects and five libraries. Other funded projects include digital enhancements for neurodiverse users in the Museum of Welsh Cricket.
“Our local museums, libraries and archive projects are vital community assets serving as visitor attractions, valuable resources for schools, and health and wellbeing hubs for the whole community,” said Welsh culture minister Jack Sargeant.
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“This fund will help protect them into the future. And it will do so with a focus on my priorities: improving access and facilities for visitors, diverse communities, families and young people; enhancing collection care and digital access; and developing the sustainability of the local culture sector.”
Nigel Blackamore, museum business and partnerships manager at Pontypridd Museum, said the organ was “more than an instrument - it’s the beating heart of our museum and a living link to Pontypridd’s rich musical heritage”.
“Restoring it will not only revive its powerful presence but also reconnect generations through sound, memory, and innovation,” he added.
Local authorities can currently bid for a share of a further £2.5m for their local museums, libraries and archives over the next 12 months.
A total of £15m in funding is attached to the Welsh Government’s Priorities for Culture – its vision for the future of culture in Wales – and will be distributed to the culture sector by the end of March. Applications for enhanced support for museums close on 29 September.
