22 museums and galleries across the UK benefit from Heritage Lottery Fund £3million collection development initiative.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has today announced grants totalling £3million for 22 museum and gallery acquisition projects across the UK. These awards come under the Fund’s Collecting Cultures scheme which is designed to help support acquisitions, curatorial skills, research and increased public involvement.
Collections that will be developed as a result of this HLF investment include: a range of 18th-century bagpipes; Inuit art and artefacts; memorabilia from Belfast’s world-famous Titanic; exquisite Tain silver such as dirks, luckenbooth brooches and quaichs (a type of shallow, two-handled drinking cup or bowl); trainers, boots and fashion footwear from the shoe capital of Northampton; and wallpaper ranging from William Morris’s delicate nature-inspired designs of the 1800s to Peter Jones’ bold primary colour prints from the 1970s.
Collecting Cultures is a one-off museums and galleries collections’ development programme; it was devised as a direct result of discussions initiated by HLF Chair, Dame Liz Forgan, in 2006 and through continued consultation¹ with the sector. It is unique in providing curators with a sum of money for strategic collections development rather than having to wait for a painting or object to become available on the art market and then applying for HLF support.
The programme was hugely over-subscribed – 95 applications totalling £13.3million were received against an available budget of £3million. Grants awarded range from £50,000 to £200,000, with museums and galleries from every country and region in the UK having at least one successful application.
Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:
“Collecting Cultures is a ground-breaking scheme for the Heritage Lottery Fund - it’s the first time we’ve given applicants the opportunity to seek out and purchase what they need to develop and build their collections strategically. This idea evolved following a great many discussions with representatives from a wide range of UK museums and galleries. We have really listened and responded to their needs and the results demonstrate our commitment to helping institutions foster the culture of collecting.
“The 22 successful projects are extraordinarily diverse – a real treasure trove of collections from very large national museums to smaller more specialised galleries. There really is something for everyone here from the classic to the modern.”
Under Collecting Cultures, HLF has actively encouraged individual museums and galleries, or consortia, such as those with a shared collecting interest, to apply for support to develop their collections². Applications had to include plans for acquiring objects within a chosen field, but they did not need to identify individual items in advance. Organisations were also asked to show how they planned to develop curatorial skills, increase public involvement and enjoyment of their collections.
Over the last 14 years, HLF has funded the acquisition of paintings and objects totalling more than £130million. Without HLF, Stubbs’ Whistlejacket would not be hanging on the walls of the National Gallery, Botticelli’s The Virgin Adoring the Christ Child could not be viewed at the National Gallery of Scotland and Collecting the Beatles memorabilia would not be on show at the new Museum of Liverpool when it opens in 2010. In the case of the Botticelli, visitor figures at the National Gallery of Scotland almost quadrupled when the picture first went on show in December 1999. HLF has also encouraged acquisitions to go on tour to regional museums and galleries, as well as requiring accompanying education programmes. Dame Liz commented:
“We have huge demands on our budgets and competition for grants is fierce. Every element of the nation’s heritage seeks support from HLF, but our funding for museums and galleries has had a particularly transformational impact over the last 14 years. We will never have enough money available to fund all the major art acquisitions that hit the news headlines, but we can help smaller local museums to develop their collections. The Lottery is an important part of a bigger support system for museums and galleries and must work alongside a culture of private giving and strong government support.”
The 22 successful Collecting Cultures projects are (more detailed descriptions available on request):
East of England
• Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge - Arctic Visions: Inuit Art and Material Culture (HLF grant: £200,000)
• Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery - Collecting Cultures: Sharing Norfolk’s Past (HLF grant: £ £199,500)
East Midlands
• Buxton Museum & Art Gallery, Derby Museums & Art Gallery and Belper North Mill - Enlightenment! Derbyshire Setting the Pace in the Eighteenth Century (HLF grant: £200,000)
• Northampton Museums and Art Gallery and Kettering Manor House Museum - Collecting Cultures - Trainers, Sneakers, Pumps and Daps (HLF grant: £130,000)
London
• V&A - Staying Power – The story of Black British Identity 1950 – 1990s (HLF grant: £157,500)
• Valence House Museum – The Industries of Barking and Dagenham (HLF grant: £60,000)
• Museum of Garden History - To Develop our Art and Design Collection (£99,400)
North East
• Tyne and Wear Museums – Collecting Design (HLF grant: £145,000)
Northern Ireland
• Fermanagh County Museum, Derry Heritage and Museum Service, Inniskillings Museum – Connection and Division (HLF grant: £100,000)
• National Museums Northern Ireland (Ulster Folk and Transport Museum) - Titanic Built in Belfast (HLF grant: £174,500)
North West
• The Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester - Cultural Reflections: Strategic Acquisition for the Whitworth Art Gallery Wallpaper Collection (HLF: £ £196,500)
• Gallery Oldham, The Harris Museum and Art Gallery - The Potters Art in the 20th Century (HLF grant: £82,000)
• Macclesfield Silk Museums/Macclesfield Museums Trust - Changes and Exploration in Silk (HLF grant: £74,500)
Scotland
• Groam House Museum - Developing the George Bain Collection, Rosemarkie (£99,000)
• Tain and District Museum – Tain Silver – the Collection (£98,400)
• Edinburgh University Collection of Musical Instruments – Enriching our Musical Heritage (£80,000)
South East
• Crafts Study Centre, Farnham – Developing a National Collection of Modern Crafts (£185,000)
• Museum of English Rural Life, Reading – Collecting Rural Cultures (£95,000)
South West
• Dorset County Museums Advisory Service: Dorset County Museum, Portland Museum, Sidmouth Museum, Lyme Regis Museum, Wareham Museum, Swanage Museum, Langton Matravers Museum, Allhallows Museum, Fairlynch Museum, Royal Albert Memorial Museum Exeter – Jurassic Life Initiative (£200,000)
Wales
• Chepstow Museum Monmouth Museum – The Wye Tour (£200,000)
West Midlands
• The Herbert, Coventry and Wolverhampton Art Gallery – Peace and Reconciliation Project (££199,500)
Yorkshire and Humber
• National Coal Mining Museum for England – Seeing the Whole Picture (£60,000)
Notes to editors
• ¹ HLF hosted a number of round table discussions on the challenges facing collections. This scheme was developed with the sector once proposals were agreed. The consultation responses were overwhelmingly positive.
• ² Collecting Cultures was open to all museums/galleries in the MLA Registration/Accreditation Scheme. Applications were made by individual museums/galleries or jointly by a group of two or more museums with a shared subject interest that wish to develop their collections collaboratively.
• Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported more than 26,000 projects, allocating over £4billion across the UK. Website: www.hlf.org.uk.
• To date, HLF has invested almost a third of its total commitment - over £1.4billion - to transforming museums and galleries.
• Acquisitions must be at least 10 years-old to be eligible for HLF support.