Museums and galleries are among the cultural venues in England that have been given grants from the £48m Cultural Investment Fund.
The fund was created by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and is distributed by Arts Council England.
The Cultural Investment Fund is awarded across three streams, which includes £24m through round two of the Cultural Development Fund (CDF) to help regenerate communities. The Museums Estate and Development Fund (Mend) awarded £18m to help museums improve their infrastructure and carry out urgent maintenance works. And the Libraries Improvement Fund is investing £5m in 25 library services.
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is among the big winners in the Mend fund, receiving nearly £5m. Others that big received awards were Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (£1.06m) and the Royal Pavillion & Museums Trust (£1.46m).
Museums to benefit from Mend grants under £1m include the Museum of North Craven Life; Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library; Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum, Burnley; Rotunda Museum, Scarborough; Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery; Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum , Bournemouth; the Museum of Gloucester; and Derby Museum and Art Gallery.
Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum and the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret in London were among the smaller museums to benefit from Mend funding.
CDF grants were given to Barnsley Museums for the redevelopment of Elsecar Heritage Centre project (£3.93m) and English Heritage to create a cultural hub at Berwick Barracks (£4.2m).
Source: www.museumsassociation.org
