This initiative, aims to ‘support museums, libraries and archives to develop their collections through strategic acquisition projects. Grantees plan and deliver programmes of targeted purchase and engage a wider range of people with their collections’. Royal Pavilion and Museums’ project, Fashioning Africa takes its lead from the service’s outstanding collection of historic African textiles to build a new collection of post-1960s African dress.

As at Brighton, most UK museum collections of African textiles were formed during the period of British intervention on the continent and no other UK museum is consistently collecting in this area. Working with members of Brighton and Hove’s African communities with fashion and dress specialists and with a whole range of partners in the UK and in African countries, the Royal Pavilion and Museums will use the award to create a new national resource. Items from this new collection will be made publically accessible through a planned 2016 exhibition, Fashion Cities Africa, through social media, a lively events programme and a community engagement initiative.

Keeper of World Art, Helen Mears, said: "This is an absolutely fantastic opportunity for us to develop the World Art collection, to move it on from its colonial roots, to bring it ‘up to date’ and to demonstrate how museums can engage with recent histories and contemporary realities. We are also excited about the possibility of making more tangible links between ‘there’ and ‘here’ by working with partners in African countries and with members of African diasporas living in Brighton and Hove. "It is incredibly difficult to raise funds to add items to museum collections so we are hugely grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for this significant investment in the future of the collection."

Janita Bagshawe, Director of Royal Pavilion and Head of Museums, said: "HLF’s fantastic award will bring new meaning and relevance to this outstanding collection, helping us engage and inspire more people than ever."

Councillor Geoffrey Bowden, said: "This award highlights not only the hard work of the staff at the Royal Pavilion and Museums, but also the importance of the service’s outstanding collection of historic African textiles. It provides us with a unique opportunity to further enrich and interpret these collections for the benefit of both local residents and visitors to the city."

Further information

The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton and Hove: Marketing and Audience Development, on tel: 03000 290 906, or email: museums.marketing@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

HLF press office: Katie Owen on tel: 020 7591 6036.