North East museums set for share of £20m windfall to preserve and promote region's heritage
Thousands of people across the North East will be able to continue to celebrate their local heritage thanks to the government's £20 million Museum Renewal Fund.
Sunderland City Council is set to receive £102,280 of funding to support the city’s museums and to improve public access to collections.
It will help enable city’s museums to expand their reach by sharing collection stories online, offering tours of their object stores, and increasing handling sessions in the museums to create an engaging user experience.
The museums will also be able to expand opening hours, to allow more people in the community to access their local heritage, including its iconic Winter Gardens, which has just received a major investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Bowes Museum in County Durham is to receive £436,181 to “safeguard access to the museum and retain skilled staff, further creating a sustainable plan to support the museum’s financial resilience into the future”.
Funding will also support the development of two major exhibitions to open in 2026, invest in upgraded digital and interactive experiences for visitors, and to develop new programmes.
This investment will “safeguard this County Durham landmark, ensuring its exceptional fine art Collections and much loved Swan automaton, remain accessible to local residents”.
Jarrow Hall is set to receive £38,669 whilst Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums - the home of region’s documentary heritage and a place where centuries of local history are preserved, cared for, and shared - is set to receive £438,300.
Following the announcement, Rebecca Ball, North Area Director at Arts Council England said: “I’m so glad that we have been able to support so many museums in the North through the government’s Museum Renewal Fund.
“Museums play a vital role in bringing our communities together. A trip to a museum is often one of our first experiences of culture, especially those run with the support of local authority funding.
“Museums offer us the opportunity to connect with the past, with the people who came before us and the heritage of places we live, work and visit- they help us to understand who we are.
“This fund will help to ensure that our museums across the north can continue to be accessed by the communities they serve.”
Museums Minister, Baroness Twycross added: "Museums offer a place where people from all backgrounds can learn, be inspired and delve into our rich history, helping to understand the stories that led us to where we are today.
“The Museum Renewal Fund is contributing to the delivery of our Plan for Change. It ensures much-loved civic museums across the North East can remain open and continue to provide opportunities for future generations to learn about our shared heritage and how their local community has played its part in our national story.”