AIM Hallmark grants announced

We’re delighted to be able to announce the recipients of the 2021 AIM Hallmarks of Prospering Museum grants.

This latest round of grants, open for applications between October and 31 January, are supporting AIM members to address our new Tackling Inequalities Hallmark.

The AIM Hallmarks of Prospering Museums identify and promote the typical characteristics of successful heritage organisations. This year, we wanted to support our members to contribute to positive change by committing to identifying and taking steps to address inequalities.

This could be through organisational change; for example, widening their range of Trustees or developing an inclusive approach to understanding and acting on the needs of their workforce. Museums also have a unique opportunity to use and develop their collections to highlight discrimination, identify and address missing perspectives and encourage debate and discussion.

The grant panel were impressed with the response from members to face the challenge of tackling inequalities in bold and unique ways. The total grant fund of £60,000 has been awarded as follows:

Milton’s Cottage – £8,000 – Paradise: Paradise is a powerful concept that resonates across cultures. This year’s 350th anniversary of Paradise Regain’d offers a strategic opportunity to engage under-represented audiences at Milton’s Cottage and tackle inequality.

Powell-Cotton Museum – £4,378.77 – Breaking Out of the Museum: taking museum-based learning to children in our community. Kickstarting a long-term, sustainable outreach programme to tackle socio-economic deprivation and challenge prejudice and racism with children in Thanet, through increased empowerment and cultural capital.

York Civic Trust, Fairfax House – £9,900 – Reconnecting Hidden Histories: A partnership – historic house, rural life and civic – addressing the representation of race and Empire in York and North Yorkshire’s cultural history. Rydale Folk Museum, York Civic Trust and York Museums Trust.

Barnsley Museums – £9,500 – Feels Like Home – ‘Taking Root’: Bringing new voices to historic places by connecting Barnsley’s newest arrivals, refugees and asylum seekers, with the uplifting heritage of the borough’s beautiful green spaces.

Brent Museum and Archives – £9,340 – Icons of Colour: Portraits of Brent’s Cultural Leaders: Portraits of Brent BAME cultural figures from the National Portrait Gallery, displayed in the borough with a new portrait of local footballing legend Cyrille Regis.

Anaesthesia Heritage Centre – £9,815 – Lost in the ether: Missing perspectives within anaesthesia: Confront attitudes towards race, gender and disability within anaesthesia and make positive change through training, collecting missing perspectives (oral histories/archive material) and a renewed 2022/23 heritage programme.

The Peace Museum – £8,500 – The Peace Museum Equality Action Plan Development: Deliver the first year of an Equality Action Plan to support the museum in becoming more representative of local communities through its workforce and programming.

Look out for case studies from these museums, plus other AIM members, in the coming months as we share examples of how museums across the UK are tackling inequalities.

Read more about the AIM Tackling Inequalities Hallmark here>>

Click here to find out more about applying for AIM grants and other membership benefits>>