Round 3 AIM Brighter Day grants awarded

The third round of the Brighter Day grants, gratefully funded by the Arts Scholars Charitable Trust, have been awarded by AIM. 

In the final round, we received twenty-two applications and six projects were selected to receive funding from the £28,500 available.

The grant stream was introduced in autumn 2021, and focused on funding projects that helped member museums become more sustainable as they navigated the uncertainty of opening following the covid pandemic. Over the lifetime of the grant scheme, twenty-five projects have been awarded funding, which has enabled members to increase access to and the care of historic and decorative art collections. Often the projects have provided the opportunity for members to work in new ways, create new income streams and increase visitor engagement.

Successful projects:

The Cartoon Museum, London
£7,150
Comic Creators Unite!

A transformative project that involves employing a former Kickstarter to work with student volunteers to catalogue the collection and identify material for a new touring exhibition offer. The project will end with a new exhibition being curated and offered through the Touring Exhibition Group (TEG) and the potential for future exhibition material identified.

St Ives Museum, Cornwall
£2,000
Reduction of lux and UV light levels at St Ives Museum

Funding to help pay for UV film in their exhibition area, where artwork, primarily watercolours, and loan material is displayed.

“That is wonderful news – thank you so much for your support with this application. We have managed to get a grant of £1000 from our local Town Council and a further grant from a small charitable trust, so this should virtually cover the planned expenditure which is a big step forward.” Peter Garratt, Assistant Curator  

Blandford Fashion Museum, Dorset
£1,200
Costume Design Portfolio Preparation Workshops

This project will provide educational learning opportunities for young people to support their career development. The findings from the students collections research will be made digitally available on the museums website and learning opportunities rolled out to a wider audience through workshops and increased interpretation.

The Silk Museum, Macclesfield
£4,500
Rediscovering Childhood: Childrenswear in the Silk Museum’s Collection

This project has a focus on the childrenswear in the collection, some 350 pieces. The project will audit, photograph, catalogue, repack and exhibit highlights from the collection. The display of childrenswear will allow a new level of interpretation aimed at younger family audiences to be introduced to the museum.

The Minories, Colchester
£7,150
Conservation training and storage solutions

The foundation run a gallery called ‘The Minories’ which houses a collection of artwork from a range of prominent 19th century to contemporary artists. Their project includes costs for professional staff to support training of volunteers, core costs to support staff to work on the storage of the collection and materials to create new shelving suitable for a listed building.

Museum of Cambridge
£6,500
Restoring Cambridgeshire’s Artistic Heritage: 2024 And Beyond

The museum has 300 paintings, which sustained damage over covid while in storage. Following an audit, the museum has prioritised work on the collection, and would like funding to cover additional staff time and storage materials. The staff hours will be used to manage the project and to build a new volunteer team. The volunteers will be trained in collection care and support the work to upgrade the storage of the art collection.

“We are so happy to have been awarded this funding from AIM and Arts Scholars Charitable Trust Brighter Days scheme. We can’t wait to shed light on the artistic heritage of our collection at the Museum of Cambridge.”  Alex Smaridge, Engagement and Collections Manager with Directorial Responsibilities

With thanks the Art Scholars for working with us to offer this valuable grant scheme. The Brighter Days grants are now closed to new applications, but click here to see what current grant schemes are open for applications>> 

And if you’re looking for inspiration for your next project, click here to take a look at our case studies>>