Applications were received from 116 organisations in need of a vital cash influx, with the amounts requested indicating the scale of the financial shortfalls confronting cultural attractions across Scotland.
The Recovery and Resilience Fund was launched in August with backing from the Scottish Government. Support was made available to independent museums and galleries to counteract the pressing danger many were in due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The scale of demand for our funding demonstrates an urgent need for continued and responsive support. Already we are seeing the impact on communities as redundancies are being made, outreach activity affected and with many museums simply unable to reopen or operating at greatly reduced capacity,” explains Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland.
The most recent industry survey conducted by Museums Galleries Scotland found that 46% of organisations in the sector will remain closed until 2021 or beyond, with research from the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions claiming that just 28% of sites that have reopened are operating at an ‘economically sustainable level’.
“We are thankful for the support received from the Scottish Government which has allowed us to channel vital funds to our independent museums,” Casot adds.
“The applications we have received show great ambition from museums and galleries to adapt and develop resilience through forward thinking action. Museums and galleries have the potential to play a key role in our recovery as vital community institutions and we will continue to make a strong case for urgent support”.
