New Voices
Culture24, in partnership with Museum Development England, is offering a fully funded learning module for small to medium museums to use their collections to create, co-create and engage their communities around themes of diversity and/or decolonisation. There are ten museum places available (for two participants per museum).
The module is specifically designed to help people working or volunteering in museums who are interested in how digital storytelling can be used to uncover and share different interpretations, diverse narratives and stories about their collections.
Over the course of seven months (November 2021 – May 2022), participants will work together to identify, plan and implement their digital content experiments. They will then track and analyse usage, engagement and impact. Find out more
Please complete an expression of interest by 5pm, Monday 15 November using this link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/NewVoices/
Culture24 will be in touch shortly after the deadline to confirm the outcome of your application.
National Lottery Projects Grants is Changing
From Monday 22 November 2021, the application process and eligibility criteria for National Lottery Project Grants will change.
Non-accredited museums will now be able to apply for National Lottery Project Grants.
Arts Council England (ACE) has refreshed the fund to help deliver its new strategy, Let’s Create, but it will continue to support individual artists, community and cultural organisations across the country with grants between £1,000 and £100,000 and it will still be open for applications at any time.
ACE has published the new guidance so that you can familiarise yourself with the refreshed fund and are ready to get started when the application portal opens on 22 November.
Read more and download the new guidance
Firm Foundations
For the last three years, Cornwall Museums Partnership has successfully run its Firm Foundation Programme for people about to embark on a capital development project in the heritage sector. In 2022, the programme is going online so that attendees need not travel down to the far southwest (though there is an optional site visit on day 4).
The programme covers the whole process of a capital project from vision to construction, and is delivered by industry experts. Full details are here: Firm Foundations Programme 2022 – Cornwall Museums Partnership
Rural Voices – The Rural Museums Network Seminar Series
The Rural Museums Network (RMN) is pleased to launch its new Seminar Series – tailoring contemporary thinking and practice to those who work with rural life collections, providing practical suggestions and support.
Join RMN for monthly tea break seminars this October, November and December to hear expert panels discuss how rural collections and rural sites can better include a wider range of voices in the stories they tell by looking at Gypsy, Roma and Travelling communities; decolonisation; and LBTQ+ lives.
These sessions will be run on Zoom and are free to members and non-members.
8 October 3pm-4pm – Representing Gypsy, Roma and Travelling Communities in Rural Museums
12 November 3pm-4pm – Decolonising Rural Collections
10 December 3pm-4pm – Telling the Stories of Rural LGBTQ+ Lives
Arts Council England Delivery Plan 2021-24
The Delivery Plan for 2021-24 sets out the detailed actions Arts Council England (ACE) will take over the next three years to deliver on the vision of the ten year strategy Let’s Create.
The priority for individuals and organisations in the cultural and creative sector continues to be recovery from the pandemic. The Delivery Plan sets out how ACE will work with its partners, the government and beyond to support the sector in addressing the challenges ahead.
ACE’s Delivery Plan gives more detail about the funding and development programmes that will be available to people and organisations over the next three years.
If you plan to apply to ACE for funding in the future, you’ll need to demonstrate how you’re embedding the Investment Principles in your work or organisation.
The Investment Principles were introduced in Let’s Create, and they are: Ambition & Quality; Dynamism; Environmental Responsibility; and Inclusivity & Relevance. They’re designed to support the cultural and creative sector to be the best that it can be; and to support the development of well-run, future facing organisations and individual creative practice.
Capital Investment Programme
Arts Council England (ACE) has announced its new Capital Investment Fund.
This new fund, which replaces the former Small and Large Capital Grants programmes, aims to help ACE build a ‘fit for the future’ cultural sector which gives more people the opportunity to enjoy high-quality cultural experiences.
Museums can apply to Arts Council England for museum capital projects for the first time – previously it was just for arts activity. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/get-funding/capital
ACE will invest in capital expenditure that supports cultural organisations to adjust buildings and equipment so that they can:
- operate safely post-pandemic
- improve access
- seize on technological opportunities
- and reduce environmental impact
Making an application:
Cultural organisations can apply for grants between £100,000 and £750,000 for activities taking place between April 2022 and March 2025.
You’ll need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) first.
You can find out more about the programme and take a look at the guidance for applicants and FAQs on the ACE website.
Key dates:
The online Expression of Interest form will be open on Grantium between 12 noon on Tuesday 5 October 2021 and 12 noon on Tuesday 26 October 2021.
The online application form will open on Grantium between 12 noon on Wednesday 10 November 2021 and 12 noon on Monday 13 December 2021.
Heritage Digital Academy
The next phase of the Heritage Digital Programme will continue up-skilling the heritage sector with digital.
Over the next 12 months, heritage organisations will have the opportunity to work with each other and expert trainers in a number of different training cohorts, modules, events, and webinars, focusing on the biggest organisational challenges the sector currently faces.
ICOM Museum Definition Consultation
ICOM has announced Consultation 3 of the Museum Definition consultation process. This consultation is based on the results from the data analysis of Consultation 2.
Please read the ICOM data analysis report before completing this survey.
The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and is open until 9am, Monday 20 September.
Walsall-based community heritage fundraising opportunity
Walsall Council has launched a new fund as part of Crowdfund Walsall, specifically focussed on heritage projects. Delivered in partnership with Spacehive, the UK’s leading civic crowdfunding platform, this strand is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Walsall Community Heritage Fund is running alongside the second round of the main Crowdfund Walsall fund, which has an overall allocation of £50,000 with up to £3,500 available per project idea. The Walsall Community Heritage Fund can also pledge up to £3,500 to heritage projects, separate to or as part of the main fund.
Visit Crowdfund Walsall to find out more.
The deadline for community organisations to put forward ideas is 22 September 2021.
EDI in Heritage Sector Research
The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust, with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund and Museum Development networks (North West, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber), is carrying out research to establish a clear picture of how the heritage sector is engaging with issues of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in all areas of organisational life, particularly with regards to race and ethnicity.
It is seeking to establish an accurate picture of how the sector, particularly small to medium organisations, is working on equality, diversity and inclusion issues. Given the increasing requirement for engagement with EDI work coming from sector funders, this research will be of great interest to all heritage organisations and will provide examples of positive case studies and real, effective recommendations to improve current practices.
Take the survey which should take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete and is open until 30 September.
You will have the chance to win a one hour of consultation with Safina Islam and Maya Sharma of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust, who have worked across the sector (and beyond) as audience and diversity specialists and will act as critical friends, addressing your needs and concerns, from workforce development to collections and community engagement.
