A message for members from the AIM Director

Hello all,

Another week’s eNews and another gloomy prime ministerial statement to respond to. The message to people to reduce socialising is a hard one for museums and heritage organisations built on community and experience. We are hearing that some of you are already seeing visitors change their behaviour, including cancelling plans to come to Christmas events that you were relying on for the income to help during what is often a less busy time in the rest of winter. The dream of a quiet few days over Christmas to relax with loved ones and start to recover from another long and hard year seems to fading into the prospect of a worrying few days wondering what the new year will bring. Today – Thursday – is also the first day that anyone showing symptoms or receiving a positive notification will be self-isolating on Christmas Day and my thoughts are with any of you in that terrible and lonely situation.

This is all particularly hard as we await any formal word from the Government that financial support will once again be made available to help organisations that are struggling through no fault of their own. The Arts Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund Culture Recovery Fund emergency funding schemes are still open and we are talking to DCMS and ACE about what other help is needed. As ever, the message is for organisations at risk to come forward as early as possible, to AIM or to other sector organisations. We want to help and we can help.

On the note of helping, in the midst of bad news we are delighted to be announcing today another way we can help organisations facing difficulties. We are grateful to the Company of Arts Scholars Charitable Trust for choosing AIM as their partner in their wish to fund organisations struggling due to covid, and particularly non-Accredited and small museums and those which haven’t been able to access other support. We look forward to working with the Arts Scholars, and thanks to their generosity providing nearly £50,000 early in the new year to organisations that need a range of support with collections and skills. More detail is available below.

Best wishes,
Lisa

lisa.ollerhead@aim-museums.co.uk

Click here for details on the AIM Arts Scholars Brighter Day conservation grant scheme>>

Culture Recovery Fund emergency funding:

Click here for the Arts Council England Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage Emergency Resource Support>>

Click here for the National Lottery Heritage Fund Emergency Resource Support Fund>>