Sheffield Museums, the new unified museums trust which brings together Museums Sheffield and Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust, has been awarded £159,000 in the second round of the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) this week.
It now serves as one of the city’s largest cultural organisations, operating Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Graves Gallery, Kelham Island Museum, Millennium Gallery, Shepherd Wheel and Weston Park Museum and caring for the remarkable collections they house. This week’s welcome funding news comes as the trust is finalising its plans to reopen the city’s museums and galleries in May, government restrictions allowing.
Over 12 months since their doors first closed to the public, Sheffield’s museums and galleries continue to be hugely affected by the pandemic. Extended closure has seen a huge loss of income that would normally be raised through its shops, cafes, corporate hire, ticket sales and the generous donations of visitors.
As well as preparing for reopening, the trust is also working on plans to delight, inspire and engage visitors in the months ahead, including new exhibitions and displays, belated 50th birthday celebrations for Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, and a move to free entry at both Abbeydale and Kelham Island Museum, which will come into effect later in the year.
Kim Streets, Chief Executive of Museums Sheffield, welcomed the new funding: “We’re hugely grateful to the Department for Culture Media and Sport and Arts Council England for this vital funding which will help us reopen and lay firm foundations to build on over the coming months. It’s wonderful to receive the news as we begin our journey as Sheffield Museums – the new Trust not only brings together fantastic museums, remarkable collections and a massively talented team, it presents a wealth of opportunity. We’re currently working on plans for reopening and beyond, and we look forward to sharing those in the next few weeks.”
Find out more at www.museums-sheffield.org.uk.
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