Arts&Heritage is disappointed to not have been successful in securing ACE NPO funding in this round. Having joined the portfolio in 2018, we have grown significantly over the last 5 years and made a notable impact on the museum and heritage sector. By forging collaborations and developing skills in artists and heritage organisations, our work has hugely increased the opportunity for artists and communities to explore and engage with a broad range of heritage stories and collections. We have additionally provided a lifeline for museums and artists throughout the last two difficult years, where our innovative operating model has shown how responsive and fleet-of-foot a small national peripatetic organisation can be.

We have successfully demonstrated that working with artists adds new insights, creates new conversations and involves more people in the work of museums and heritage organisations. We have supported 100’s of museums and their staff to forge new relationships and tell marginalised or hidden stories within their collections and we have created closer relationships between museums and the communities they serve.

It is vital now more than ever that the museum and heritage sector workers develop the skills, knowledge, mechanisms and expertise needed to take risks, reflect contemporary society, innovate and truly represent the voices of the contemporary world in which we live.

A&H will therefore continue to find partners, artists and funding strands that share and support this passion. We believe that upskilling the sector and positioning archives, collections and overlooked stories as the inspiration for new commissioned artworks by brillaint UK and international artists embeds more underrepresented voices into the histories told, shared and recorded.

During what we know will be difficult times ahead, we are determined to ensure we continue to support as many people as possible to feel heard, seen and represented in the UK’s history. Our vital work with museums, heritage sites, artists and communities of interest will continue.