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New £1m emergency funding for Scotland’s independent museums
Museums Galleries Scotland announces funding opportunities as it consults on national strategy
A further £1m emergency revenue funding will soon be available for independent museums in Scotland affected by the Omicron wave, Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) has announced.
The rescue funding is one of two new grant opportunities being launched by Scotland’s museum development body following allocations by the Scottish Government. Further details on applying to the fund will be announced shortly.
The second stream, the £1m Museums Capital Resilience Fund, will support capital projects in the financial year 2022-23 aimed at building resilience. It will fund a wide range of activities, including measures to reduce costs such as increasing energy efficiency, and repairs and maintenance to prevent escalation of costs.
Grants of between £3,000 and £75,000 are available for Accredited museums, and between £3,000 and £20,000 for non-Accredited museums.
The fund opened for applications this week and will close at 1700 on Monday 14 February.
MGS is asking all potential applicants to email its grants team with a brief outline of their ideas by 1700 on 4 February at grants@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk.
MGS has also launched a follow-up survey to last year’s chattel slavery survey for its Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums project (ESSM). This survey aims to investigate the work that museums and galleries in Scotland have done in the last three years or plan to do in the next two years, in relation to the historical impact and lasting legacy of Scotland’s links to the British Empire and colonialism.
MGS is seeking responses from a wide range of museums, even those who feel it has little or no relevance to their organisation or collection, to give an overview of current approaches to empire and colonialism across Scotland’s museums.
The survey is open now and runs until 7 February.
The announcements come as MGS embarks on a year-long consultation to help shape Scotland’s second national strategy for museums. Roundtable events to discuss elements of the strategy will be held on 26 January, on wellbeing, economy and fair work, and 11 February, on decolonisation.