Welsh Government announces £9m in major funding boost for culture

The Welsh Government has awarded a total of £8.94m in funding to strengthen the country’s museums, archives, libraries and cultural institutions.

The award, which comes six months after the government launched its Priorities for Culture strategy, includes nearly £2.2m for the Arts Council of Wales’ Strategic Capital Investment Fund, supporting capital improvements to arts buildings, venues and equipment, and £1.9m for 15 projects to help build capacity in local museums, archives and library services (see box at end for full list).

Recipients include Monlife in Monmouthshire for its project to make stored collections more accessible to the public; Wrexham County Council to fund a partnership post and pilot new ways for museums to work together; and Swansea Council for a natural history collection project.

The support for local museums, archives and libraries services will also include a further £900,000 in grant funding, available for allocation until autumn next year.

The funding also includes £2m for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, £1.87million for the redevelopment of Theatr Clwyd and £767,000 for the Welsh National Opera.

The National Botanic Garden of Wales has also received £250,000 to support a range of projects to improve sustainability and the visitor experience, including support to restore the Great Glass House and its collections.

“This is another significant investment in Welsh cultural institutions and reaffirms my belief that our museums, archives and libraries are not optional extras but essential cultural foundations,” said culture minister Jack Sargeant.

“These projects will not only improve access to museums, archives and libraries but will foster collaboration, preserve local history and strengthen engagement, learning and participation across communities.

“This £8.94m investment will provide vital capacity for a sector that has been clear about the pressures it faces, while giving the support required to deliver our shared priorities and ambitions within the Priorities for Culture."

Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, said: "This is a much welcome addition to Welsh Government support for museums. We have long argued for extra funding for local museums and our manifesto for museums makes the case for everyone in Wales having access to a good quality museum service near to where they live.

"We hope this will be just the beginning of much needed support for local museums in Wales." 

Dafydd Rhys, the chief executive of Arts Council of Wales, also welcomed the investment: “This commitment will bring lasting benefits to communities across Wales, and we look forward to continuing our work with the arts sector to ensure inspiring, high-quality arts experiences are available throughout Wales.”

Fifteen projects have received £1.9m to help build capacity in local museums, archives and library services:

• Gwynedd Council, Welsh Libraries | Supporting Gwynedd Culture strategy and national pilot for LMS Cymru library management system.
• Torfaen County Borough Council, on behalf of Gwent Archives and Archives, & Records Council Wales | Archifau Cymru Byw / Archives Wales Alive: Breathing life into historical records – National Archives Project
• Denbighshire County Council, Flintshire County Council on behalf of North East Wales Archives | North East Wales Archives Creative Archives project to relocate the joint archive service delivered by Flintshire and Denbighshire.
• Awen Trust, Bridgend County Borough Council | Our Ogwr Unlocked project.
• Denbighshire County Council  | Schools outreach programme.
• Gwella Trust & Flintshire County Council | Expanding Flintshire’s Heritage
• Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council | Using technology to enhance the cultural experience for Merthyr Tydfil residents and visitors to Merthyr Tydfil.
• Powys, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion | Mid and West Wales Strategic Culture Partnership
• Monmouthshire County Council, Monlife | From Vault to View: Collaborative Archiving for Public Access.
• Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council | Enabling Cultural Collaboration and Access to Heritage for Neath Port Talbot.
• Newport County Council | Local History digitisation and geocaching app.
• Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council | Improving public engagement and collections access across Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Museums and Libraries.
• Swansea Council | Call of Seagull and Rook: stories of a Natural History Collection
• Wrexham County Council | Partnership collections officer – piloting new ways for museums to work in partnership.
• Anglesey County Council | Engaging new and existing audiences, by promoting the recently expanded archaeology collection at Oriel Môn.