24 June 2019
The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund
Grants of between £20,000 and £120,000 are available to museums and galleries in the UK for time-limited projects that demonstrate the significance, distinctiveness and power of collections to people.
The Fund, provided by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and administered by the Museums Association (MA), awards nearly £1.2 million per year to around 10 to 16 high-quality projects, focusing on collections that are typically held by accredited museums or a partnership of museums and other organisations.
Eligible projects can be up to three years in duration and must:
- Work with an existing collection or collections to improve understanding of them and increase their use; and
- Through that collections work, involve, inspire and have value for people, communities and audiences.
Projects are expected to be innovative, outward-looking and seek change, in the context and scale of the museum. This might include leading practice that influences the whole sector or creating a replicable model of working for the applicant organisation itself.
Grants can be used towards a wide range of engagement activities outside the scope of an organisation’s core resources including co-curation, research, digitisation, conservation, documentation and exhibition costs.
The next deadline for applications is 11 September 2019 (5pm).