Guildford Museum Secures Arts Council England Funding

Published on: 2 Aug, 2016
Updated on: 2 Aug, 2016

Guildford Museum in Quarry Street

Plans to involve local people in our new ‘Your Stories, Your Museum’ project have led to success and a “significant grant funding from Arts Council England” according to a council press release this morning (August 2).

A council report in April recommended that the council redeveloped areas of the museum and, most importantly, opened up the rear of the building to allow access from the Castle Grounds, reported to attract 500,000 visitors a year.

Cllr Nikki Nelson-Smith

Cllr Nikki Nelson-Smith (Con, Christchurch), lead Guildford Borough Councillor for heritage and the arts, said: “It’s fantastic to be awarded a grant of £84,551 from the Arts Council’s Museum Resilience Fund, and to be successful when there are so many other applications from across the country.

“Recognition and funding for ‘Your Stories, Your Museum’ is another step forward in our plans to improve Guildford Museum and work more closely with local people.”

John Orna-Ornstein, director of museums at Arts Council England said: “The focus of our investment approach for museums in 2015-18 is on building a more resilient sector. The Museum Resilience fund is a key part of that, providing vital support to museums right across the country.

“It is really exciting to see museums putting their audiences at the heart of their work and so we are really pleased to be supporting ‘Your Stories, Your Museum’.”

Cllr Nikki Nelson-Smith added: “This is another way to help transform the museum, alongside the evaluation work on our proposed new extension to make it a bigger and more exciting place to experience the borough’s history in action.

“Reaching out to and responding to visitors, as well as involving them in what we exhibit and how, is a key aspect of this new project. We look forward to encouraging our communities to share their stories and be part of their museum.”

The council aims to start the 18 month ‘Your Stories, Your Museum’ project in October this year (2016) and the grant covers nearly 80% of the total cost.

A council spokesperson said: “We are also working on the following overall museum improvements:

• setting up a specific development group – involving a wide range of partners and specialists to contribute and help review new ideas for the museum plans;
• evaluating competitive bids to commission a feasibility study for the proposed museum building extension;
• working with a range of new and existing partners, including the Surrey Archaeological Society, to help plan and deliver future museum content and;
• investigating how best to develop a fund-raising strategy alongside the Council’s funding.”

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