Derby Museums welcomes timely £800,000 government cash boost

Derby Museums has said it is ‘both delighted and relieved’ to receive almost £800,000 from the Government to help with its running costs.

The organisation, which is responsible for the city’s Museum of Making, Pickford’s House and Derby Museum and Art Gallery, has been awarded the funding from the Museum Renewal Fund via Arts Council England.

It is one of 75 museum organisations to receive a share of £20 million from the fund, which aims to help keep cherished civic museums open and engaging.

Derby Museums said its funding will bridge a large income gap of general running costs ensuring that the organisation breaks even this financial year.

It will also support mandatory IT upgrades and enhance marketing and audience research so that more people can visit and find out about their cultural heritage in Derby.

Tony Butler, executive director at Derby Museums, said: “It’s no secret that for several years Derby Museums has faced a very challenging financial position.

“Last October, regional museum leaders highlighted the difficult funding landscape for local museums including Derby Museums.

“This message was also reinforced by support from Derby’s MPs and funding through Arts Council England responded to the call.”

Next year is an important one for Derby Museums as it launches its Year of Wright, culminating in the exhibition Wright of Derby: From the Shadows.

The major programme is presented in partnership with The National Gallery in London and will see Joseph Wright’s masterpiece An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump exhibited in Derby for the first time since the late 1940s.

The Museum Renewal Fund aims to protect opening hours and jobs, as part of the government’s ongoing commitment to ensure museums can continue to tell our national story at a local level.

Museums Minister, Baroness Twycross said: “Museums offer a place where people from all backgrounds can learn, be inspired and delve into our rich history, helping to understand the stories that led us to where we are today.

“The Museum Renewal Fund is contributing to the delivery of our Plan for Change.

“It ensures much-loved civic museums can remain open and continue to provide opportunities for future generations to learn about our shared heritage and how their local community has played its part in our national story.”

Derby Museums said it was grateful to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England for recognising the urgent needs of the sector and providing essential funding that will ensure museum services in the Derby are not reduced.

Tony added: “While the Museum Renewal Fund offers vital relief this financial year, it will not address the ongoing core funding challenge we face.

“Since 2016, local authority funding has reduced by 65%, while costs have risen sharply due to inflation, high energy costs and rise in National Insurance contributions.

“In 2016, Derby Museums was running two museums welcoming under 100,000 visitors.

“Today, we run three museum sites (including the award-winning Museum of Making) and welcome over 210,000 people each year.”