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Heritage Fund grant supports ten Gloucestershire museums in reaching under-represented groups

Image: Rebuilding the Foundations project © South West Museum Development / Amanda Harman Photography

A £56,800 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has enabled South West Museum Development to launch a project targeting engagement with under-represented audiences throughout Gloucestershire.

Rebuilding the Foundations: Gloucestershire’s Museums will run until March 2022, with South West Museum Development working directly with ten museums in Gloucestershire to develop the necessary skills to engage under-represented local communities.

Bespoke development opportunities will be provided for each participating museum, along with support from sector specialists able to facilitate the building of resilience following a year ravaged by the pandemic.

The project

Rebuilding the Foundations: Gloucestershire’s Museums offers participating organisations a combination of diagnosis, tailored specialist intervention and peer support to begin new ways of working.

Museums working with South West Museum Development will:

  • Reshape the way they work with the help of a team of specialists and local organisations
  • Involve and engage local communities currently under-represented in their heritage, audiences and volunteer teams
  • Become part of a network, developing mutual support and learning
  • Effectively use resources, to grow and strengthen Gloucestershire’s museums

The initiative focused on securing a future for the county’s museums that is engaged, relevant and sustainable follows on from South West Museum Development’s highly successful Pest Partners project, nominated for recognition in the Pandemic Pivot category at the 2021 Museums + Heritage Awards.


More information about Rebuilding the Foundations: Gloucestershire’s Museums is available by contacting the project team at [email protected]