Art Fund

We have made a joint submission to HM Treasury’s call for policy suggestions for the 2024 Autumn Budget alongside AIM - Association of Independent Museums, the English Civic Museums Network (ECMN), Museums Association and National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC). We highlighted the essential contributions museums make to society, and how museums can help deliver all five of the Government's core missions by: 🎨 Boosting tourism, job creation, and local economies 💬 Building community cohesion 📚 Supporting education, lifelong learning, and equal opportunities 🌍 Educating the public on climate action and sustainability 💖 Enhancing health and well-being Museums face significant challenges due to austerity, the cost of living crisis, and the lasting impacts of the pandemic. The sector urgently needs Government support to remain resilient. We are calling for urgent Government support to tackle key challenges, including: • Emergency funding for civic museums • Fair, long-term funding for Local Authorities • Maintaining Grant in Aid to national museums and Arts Council England • Capital investment for repairs, decarbonisation, and digital infrastructure across all UK museums • Continued free admission to national museums • Reforms to the Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) to expand its impact We'll continue working in partnership to make the case to Government for adequate, long-term and sustainable investment in all UK museums, including in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review in Spring 2025. #AutumnBudget2024 #UKMuseums Image © Zeinab Batchelor / Art Fund 2024

⏳ One week left to apply! We're offering 5 bursaries for the Arts Marketing Association Digital Marketing Day, available to both AMA members and non-members. If you work at a UK museum, gallery, or historic place, this is a fantastic opportunity to attend without worrying about costs. The bursary covers the full cost of your delegate place, and additional support for travel and accommodation may be provided on a case-by-case basis. 📝 Apply before 19 September: https://bit.ly/4gxTkov

🚨 1 week until the deadline for our student opportunities programme! This programme enables museums, galleries, and visual arts organisations to offer paid work experience to university students, allowing them to explore their interest in the arts while gaining valuable, developmental experience. What’s in it for your organisation? ✅ Extra skilled capacity ✅ Accountable and motivated students ✅ Funding to cover the costs of paying students at national and London living wage rates We are encouraging applications that focus on public engagement with art, whether online or in person. ⌛ Apply now: https://bit.ly/3ZiNwsr

Have you heard about our new appeal, Expanding Horizons? We want to invest £700,000 into building a diverse museum workforce by supporting the people who bring museums to life - discover the campaign and how you can help. https://bit.ly/4cNdJTi

💡 Working with early years audiences? Or interested in working with this audience group? Join our Early Years Community of Interest, where you'll hear about our research and development work with Nesta on innovation in this area, and be part of our growing network of early years practitioners in the sector. 👋 Join our community: https://bit.ly/3AUUdXz Image courtesy of Manchester Museum. Photo © Jody Hartley.

The UK’s visual arts sector calls for sustained support from the government to maintain its contribution to the UK's creative economy. 📢 We've joined more than 4,000 arts professionals and artists in signing an open letter to Lisa Nandy MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The letter urges the government to take steps in supporting the visual arts sector, as per the recommendations of the Visual Arts Manifesto proposed by Art Fund and 23 other arts organisations earlier this year. The letter puts forward three of our key policy asks: • To ensure every school child visits a cultural organisation every year • To protect free entry to museums and galleries • To expand the Museum and Gallery Exhibition Tax Relief The letter and manifesto were highlighted by The Guardian this weekend: https://bit.ly/4gbEio9 📝 Read the letter: https://bit.ly/3ZbLavE

Don't miss out: join our National Art Pass Network Manager, Jennie Jiricny, for a drop-in session tomorrow at 10:30am. Discover all the benefits of being part of our UK-wide National Art Pass network with over 900 museums, galleries, and historic places. Register now, and we’ll see you there 👋 https://bit.ly/4e95YIe

🎨 Looking to commission an artist to create work and explore new ways to engage audiences? We’re keen to hear from you if you have an ambitious or imaginative commission project in mind, especially if it could help with the above. For grants above £7,500, please submit applications by Wednesday 11 September to be considered at our next trustees’ meeting. Applications for smaller amounts are considered on a rolling basis. ⏱️ Apply for funding: https://bit.ly/4edMBhf Image: Melanie Manchot, Dance All Night © Rachel Cherry

It's people who make museums. That's why in 2025, we're aiming to commit £700,000 to supporting a diverse and skilled museum workforce. This campaign, Expanding Horizons, will kickstart a bold new investment in expertise, diversity and leadership in museums. Want to know more? Visit the campaign page now to discover the appeal and how you can support: https://bit.ly/4cNdJTi

💼 We're looking to commission an external agency to work with us to identify host organisations and deliver bespoke organisational change packages as part of the development of a major new curatorial leadership programme. 📝 Submit your proposal by midday on 20 September: https://bit.ly/4e1lR3G