Nottingham City Council has been awarded a £1.4m grant to help fund its museum service over the next three years.
The £1,425,325 National Portfolio Organisation award has come from Arts Council England and covers the period of 2023 to 2026. The museums service has been successful in applying for these grants since 2018.
Close to three quarters of the money will be spent on staff salaries to deliver the department’s business plan, with the remainder put aside to fund the application process for new grants which the Council can bid for.
Without the £1.4m, the museums service would have had to find an annual saving of £474,775 between now and 2026.
The Council has received Government support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) since 2004 when Renaissance In The Regions was launched as a national scheme to support ambition and quality in regional museums.
In 2018 the museum service was awarded National Portfolio Organisation status by Arts Council England. This helps open up new revenue streams for the Council.
The latest grant will be spent on projects including:
- The Wollaton Hall Transformation: Improving the galleries, Walled Garden and park
- Crafted In Clay exhibition at Newstead Abbey: A studio pottery display around the house showcasing work by contemporary artists from diverse backgrounds
- Go Create: Free membership for children and young people from under-represented communities aged between 14 and 24 years to participate in weekly cultural, creative and consultation on-site activities
- Your Creative Space: Consultation and creative workshops to develop and implement a new programme of volunteering opportunities
- Creative Science: Ecology school sessions for primary pupils delivered in partnership with schools, universities, The Natural History Museum in London and wildlife organisations
- Support for a range of annual community festivals at museum sites
- Planning for next year’s bicentenary celebrations to mark the death of Lord Byron in 1824
Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council, said: “This is a really important grant award and I’m delighted that it will help to continue the very valuable work currently taking place across our museums service.
“I’m particularly pleased that a number of the local projects that it directly funds are aimed at encouraging more people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and diverse communities to engage with the city’s heritage.
“We work very hard to retain the National Portfolio Organisation status we were granted by Arts Council England five years ago and this enables us to bid for additional money to support our work in Nottingham.”