£4m grant puts West Midlands galleries in the frame
MUSEUMS and galleries across England have collectively been awarded £4m in grants as part of this year’s DCMS/Wolfson Museum and Galleries Improvement Fund.
The grants, jointly funded through a partnership between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Wolfson Foundation, will be used for renovation and improvement projects in 39 English museums and galleries – including five in the West Midlands.
Having this week made the announcement, Minister for Digital and Culture Matt Hancock said: “Our museums and galleries are among the best in the world and we should be rightly proud of these institutions.
“We want people to be able to enjoy world-leading culture wherever they live and whatever their background. These grants will make an important contribution toward increasing access to their wonderful collections and improving the visitor experience at museums right across the country.”
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Compton Verney House, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Black Country Living Museum were awarded a total of £328,490 to use to make various improvements.
Compton Verny House, Warwick has received £36,000, which it plans to use to re-display one of the largest UK collections of folk-art.
Dudley’s Black Country Living Museum will be using its £128,490 to revitalise the Racecourse Colliery giving visitors enhanced insight into the lives of the miners.
Deputy Chief Executive at the museum, Jonathan Wilson said: “The completion of this project will mean the museum is able to provide an immersive and thought-provoking experience of this important Black Country industry for our visitors, and give them a real sense of what day-to-day life was like for the people and animals working above a Black Country mine.”
The £24,000 awarded to Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will be used to provide equal access for all and Wolverhampton Art Gallery’s £65,000 grant will be put towards the gallery’s capital redevelopment scheme.
BMAG will be utilising the Improvement Fund to create a dedicated ‘MiniBrum’ area for under-8s at the Thinktank.
CEO of the Wolfson Foundation, Paul Ramsbottom said: “The awards demonstrate the richness and variety of the country’s museum collections. From Egyptian mummies in Leicester to a Roman fort on Tyneside, this is a gloriously diverse set of projects – but all demonstrate excellence and all will improve the visitor experience.”
