A new programme which will invest in small and medium-sized museums looking to collaborate and tour exhibitions has opened for applications.
Art Fund’s ‘Going Places’ project is hoped to enable small and medium sized museums to reach new audiences through collaborative working and the creation of touring exhibitions.
The first phase of the project, backed by £252,839 development funding, will see it create five networks of between three and five museums, with each network developing bespoke touring exhibitions.
It will encourage focus on engaging and involving under-served audiences with museum collections.
Network-building workshops will take place in September and October.
The second phase of the project is due to start in 2025 and will run for five years, with funding to support the delivery of up to two touring exhibitions per network, training and mentoring opportunities, programme evaluation and the development of a wider fundraising strategy around exhibitions and the sustainability of the networks.
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said the project will allow participating museums “to support one another in developing their skills and resources to plan towards their future, particularly bolstering their programming through touring exhibitions.”
The Going Places project is in addition to the Museums and Galleries Network of Exhibition Touring (MAGNET), a network of 12 museums which will develop three collections-based exhibitions to tour between 2025-2030 with support from Art Fund and Arts Council England.
Applications for the project are open now and close 24 November 2023.
