Museums, galleries and other cultural venues in England are to receive £270m funding to stay afloat and fix their crumbling buildings, the government has said.
The money will go to attractions “in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, carry out vital infrastructure work and improve long term financial resilience”, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
It comes after warnings that museums in places such as Derby, Birmingham and Hampshire “face a perilous financial position” with the “imminent threat of sale of collections or closure”.
Core funding for UK arts and cultural organisations fell by 18% between 2010 and 2023.
The money announced on Thursday includes a pot worth £120m, which will be available to 17 major institutions such as the British Museum, National Gallery and National Museums Liverpool, which all get their regular annual funding from the DCMS.
Those venues will also receive a 5% increase in their annual grants, worth more than £15m.
However, that rise hasn’t been extended to hundreds of other cultural organisations that get grants via Arts Council England, many of which have struggled with near-standstill funding for the past decade.
There will also be £85m for the 2025/26 financial year “to support urgent capital works to keep venues across the country up and running”.
Local museums will have a £20m fund “to help keep cherished civic museums open”.
Last October, the English Civic Museums Network called for an emergency injection “to rectify some of the damage inflicted by austerity”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the funding in Stratford-upon-Avon to mark the 60th anniversary of the first ever arts White Paper.
“The funding we are announcing today will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions,” she said.
Jon Finch, chair of the English Civic Museums Network and head of culture at Barnsley Council, welcomed the announcement.
“ECMN is delighted that the government has recognised the compelling case for investment in local museums as part of its growth agenda,” he said.
“Civic museums are a fundamental part of England’s cultural, creative, and social fabric and are a catalyst for growth on all our high streets.”
