Deadline: 27 October 2021, 5pm

Creative Collections is a new scheme offered by South East Museum Development to help museums develop their collections by exploring under-researched histories and knowledge gaps.

Museums can apply for a grant to support collections development activity involving under-represented communities, specialist groups or diverse researchers. The activity can be to co-curate, contemporary collect, or formalise fresh knowledge input into collections documentation and broaden the way that information is presented or used. We want to encourage museums to try something new and develop the confidence to take risks, explore their own ideas or the ideas of others.

The grants can be used to support a range of activity, including:

• Collaborations that take the form of community-led collections research initiatives, co-curation and co-interpretation of displays and exhibitions and co-designed programmes of events and workshops (e.g., running sessions or activities that explore and record a collection’s hidden stories)
• Commissioning new research or new art works
• Exhibition or interpretation costs (e.g., a new gallery trail, materials, digital output or a community led pop up exhibition)
• Travel & subsistence costs (e.g., for research visits)
• Consultancy or specialist costs (e.g., for facilitating co-curation activities, or to reimburse community or specialist groups/partners)
• Collections’ reassessment and rationalisation, including materials to protect collections
• Purchase of equipment to set up a new offer
• Purchase of IT software / licences / hardware to support delivery of a project (e.g., digital delivery methods)
• Design, marketing, and promotional activity

How much can I apply for?

Up to £3000.

When is the application deadline?

The deadline for this grant is 27 October 2021, 5pm.

Who can apply?

The grant is available to museums that are Fully or Provisionally Accredited from the south east of England that are non-national, non-NPO.

Applicants must:

• Complete the project activity and send a final grant report to SEMD by 29 June 2022.
• Send us an itemised list of expenditure as part of their final report.
• Submit organisational data to next year’s Annual Museum Survey (July-October 2022).

How do I submit my application?

• Talk to your local Museum Development Officer before you complete the application form.
• Complete the online Creative Collections Grant Application Form. We will email you a PDF copy of your submitted form within 1 week of submission for your own records.
• If you require the application form in an alternative format, please contact us on [email protected]
• Successful applications will be confirmed by 5 November 2021.

Additional support

Watch our Creative Collections Launch Event

We are running three Creative Collections Open Forum events.

• 19 November 2021, 10-11.30am– Creative Collections Open Forum Event: how can working with artists & creatives help develop dynamic collections? Sign up here
• 14 January 2022, 10-11.30am– Creative Collections Open Forum Event: how can community collaboration advance our collections knowledge & curatorial practice? Sign up here
• 11 March 2022, 10-11.30am– Creative Collections Open Forum Event: how can we use collections to innovate our business and visitor offer? Sign up here

If you’d like to know more about our Collections Care Grant and associated events please contact the lead Museum Development Officer for this element of our delivery, Helen Derbyshire.