Art Fund, the national charity for art, has revealed the first 22 places to receive part of £2 million in grants set to be awarded in 2021. 

It has now awarded a total of £658,331 to 22 UK museums, galleries, historic houses, trusts and professional networks across the UK.

The Reimagine grants are set to support large and small projects and professional networks to  “navigate their way to recovery from the pandemic”, and “increase creativity and stability in the sector” with funding provided for projects that “enable experimentation, deepen engagement with diverse audiences, and result in greater expertise”.

The Blind School Pioneering People and Places - Screen South

Art Fund said areas of priority for the programme are collections, digital, engagement and the workforce.

The second round of grants will be announced in November, and the third and final round of grants will be announced in December.

Among the projects to be supported are an exploration of the human history of The Clifton Suspension Bridge, community quilt-making at Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute, and an exhibition of 70 years of ceramics by women of colour from West Africa through the diaspora to the UK at Two Temple Place in London.

Art Fund’s director Jenny Waldman said, “Museums often produce what seem like miracles on a shoestring, but they need enhanced resources – such as in digital, specialist support and staffing – to truly build for the future. We are proud to support these impressive projects, something we could not have done without the exceptional generosity of our members and donors.”

Full details of this round of allocations are outlined below:

Smaller grants (between £5K and £15K)

  • Nottingham Contemporary – ‘Caption-Conscious Ecology’ – £11,025.
  • Redbridge Museum – ‘Reimagining Redbridge Museum’ – £15,000.
  • The Charles Causley Trust – ‘Expanding our Visual Arts Offer: Communities, Networks and Young People’ – £14,900.
  • National Museums Liverpool – ‘Transatlantic Slavery and Legacies in Museums Forum’ – £11,000.
  • The Clifton Suspension Bridge – ‘The Union‘ – £15,000.
  • Hebden Bridge Arts Festival – ‘Engaging Neighbourhoods‘ – £7,500.
  • RIBA – ‘Becontree Centenary Reimagined‘ – £15,000.
  • Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum –’Impressions of a Welsh Regiment‘ – £9,585.
  • Mount Stuart Trust – ‘Stitching Recovery‘ £14,725.

Larger grants (between £15K and £50K) 

  • Screen South/Accentuate – ‘Reimagining Disability Collections’ £49,915.
  • Ely Museum – ‘People and Place: Engaging East Cambridgeshire’ £39,548.
  • CVAN – ‘Fair and Equitable Practice’ £49,995.
  • Project Art Works – ‘Creative Pathways for Neurodivergent Artists’ £40,000.
  • Two Temple Place – ‘Exhibition 2022: Body, Vessel, Clay’ £50,000.
  • Ushaw Historic House – ‘The Hidden Treasures of Ushaw’ £40,000.
  • Norton Priory Museum and Gardens – ‘The Mindful Museum’ £43,500.
  • Artlink Hull – ’87 Gallery’ £48,559.
  • Block Universe – ‘Digital Engagement Strategy Development’ £34,795.
  • Society of Genealogists – ‘Reimagining how we work and engage with people’ £50,000.
  • Broadway Gallery and Studio – ‘Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation’ £28,000.
  • Vindolanda Trust – ‘Digital Bibliographies’ £24,300.
  • The Story Museum – ‘Young Curators: Minecraft Museum’ £45,995.
Back to top