The Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport chose the Gloucester Waterways Museum to announce a number of successful grant applications from DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund of which the Gloucester Waterways Museum is one.
The Gloucester Waterways Museum has been awarded £100,000 from DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund towards the revitalisation project 'From Birmingham to the Sea' to match the £994,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The grant will see the museum's galleries and displays refreshed and updated ahead of a grand public opening in spring 2016.
Significant improvements
Canal & River Trust, chief executive Richard Parry, said: “We were thrilled to welcome the Secretary of State to the Gloucester Waterways Museum and delighted the Department and the Wolfson Foundation have awarded further funding to match the Heritage Lottery Grant. This will help us make significant improvements within the museum and tell the story of the waterways' historic importance to the city and region.”
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The Government is committed to supporting the arts and making sure our marvelous museums and inspiring galleries continue to be accessible to all. Thanks to the generosity of the Wolfson Foundation our cultural destinations in communities across the country are going from strength to strength and remain much loved places to visit and explore.”
Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation said: "This partnership between the Wolfson Foundation and DCMS is an exemplar of how a charity and government can work together. We are delighted to be funding so many wonderful projects across the length and breadth of the country. The country's museums and galleries continue to be an inspiration."
Pop-up museums
The Canal & River Trust has secured a further £65,000 thanks to museum volunteers and grants from local charitable trusts and donors to bring a distinctive focus on the regional story of the importance of the Docks and the natural and man-made waterways associated with the region. Local Charitable Trusts include the Friends of Gloucester Waterways Museum, The Honourable Company of Gloucestershire Charitable Trust, The Langtree Trust, The Ratcliff Foundation, The Rowlands Trust, The Saintbury Trust, The Summerfield Trust, The Wilmcote Charitrust.
The £1.5 million revitalisation project will begin early in 2015 and it is expected that the museum will be closed to the public from autumn 2015 until spring 2016 for galleries to be remodelled and improved. During that time museum staff intend to establish pop-up museums around Gloucester to reach out to new audiences and maintain relationships with the thousands of local families who visit the museum each year.
