Brighton and Hove museums to re-open from 17 May 2021 – helped by £370k lockdown recovery cash
Brighton and Hove’s Royal Pavilion and four other museums will re-open from 17 May 2021, helped by £370,000 from the second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
The Royal Pavilion re-opens 17 May; Brighton and Hove’s three museums 18 May; and Preston Manor 28 May.
- The Royal Pavilion (Brighton’s iconic ex-royal-palace-by-the sea) reopens on Monday 17 May with the re-opening of “A Prince’s Treasure” – wonderful items on loan from Her Majesty the Queen in their original setting. The exhibition has been extended until January 2022.
- Brighton Museum, Hove Museum and the Booth Museum will reopen on Tuesday 18 May. Brighton Museum will extend the photographic show “David Bowie – Rock n Roll with Me: Bowie/ MacCormack 1973 – 76” until January 2021. This show sold out during the short window when the museum opened in autumn 2020, and is expected to be popular this summer (advance tickets needed, click here for more info).
- Preston Manor will reopen on Friday 28 May with new family trails to provide entertainment for local residents during the school holidays.
RPMT Chair of Trustees, Michael Bedingfield, said: “Culture is an essential part of the Brighton & Hove economy and will be essential to its recovery after such a difficult year… However 2021 will continue to be very difficult and unpredictable for our organisation. We will continue to need lots of support from our stakeholders, supporters and audiences. This could be visiting one or all of our venues when they reopen, visiting our fantastic Royal Pavilion shop or donating to our charitable fund.”
Cash help from the Culture Recovery Fund
The museums are run by the Royal Pavillion and Museums Trust (RPMT), which is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
RPMT CEO Hedley Swain said the £370k award was “a vital grant”, and: “This will make a major difference to our ability to re-open venues and do all we can to welcome as many visitors as possible in 2021.”
This second round of awards has seen more than £300 million awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said on 1 April 2021. Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. The second round of awards will help organisations plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations, this funding will be a much needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal.
This second round funding is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said: “Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work. We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
Backgrounder
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Their “strategic vision” Let’s Create intends “by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk” . Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies administering the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.
At the Budget, the Chancellor announced the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund would be boosted with a further £300 million investment. Details of this third round of funding will be announced soon.
Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust (RPMT) is a charitable trust responsible for the management of the Royal Pavilion & Museum service in Brighton & Hove. Formed in October 2020, the RPMT “will protect and preserve the venues and collections in the museum service while continuing to offer a vibrant and fascinating service to visitors from around the world. The Trust is funded by Arts Council England, Brighton & Hove City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and other charitable organisations and from public donations as well as income from admissions. RPMT oversees the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Preston Manor, Hove Museum & Art Gallery and the Booth Museum of Natural History.
Photo credit – Phoenix from Burning Clocks festival – pic by John Vara
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