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Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives

A person handles large parchment documents in an archive room, with shelves of archive boxes in the background
Black Cultural Archives. Credit: Kois Miah
Museums, libraries and archives tell the stories of our cultural heritage.

Through objects, collections, film, documents and oral histories they help to give us a sense of place and identity.

Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded over £2.3billion to 5,800 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK.

What do we support?

Our funding supports institutions large and small, including:

  • national and local authority museums, libraries and archives
  • historic libraries
  • community archives
  • institutions with heritage collections

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • create exciting new exhibition and learning spaces
  • attract more diverse audiences
  • interpret and open up acquisitions
  • develop collections

For more inspiration, see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Grants for Heritage programme is open for applications.

Find out more and apply
Children in a museum
Children enjoying an exhibition at Seven Stories, Newcastle upon Tyne

Hub

Dynamic Collections

Our campaign supports collecting organisations across the UK to become more inclusive and resilient with a focus on engagement, re-interpretation and collections management.
Hands on embroidery

Projects

Touching stitches: embroidery access for the blind

This innovative project explored ways to enable blind and partially sighted people to access the Edinburgh College of Art’s historic textile collection, which spans over three centuries.

A photo taken through a keyhole of a prisoner in a cell, wearing striped black and white clothing.
The museum offers insight into the experiences of prisoners from Victorian times to the modern day. Photo: West Midlands Police Museum.

Projects

The Lock-Up: Unlocking History at West Midlands Police Museum

Our funding has enabled the museum to move into a Victorian custody block, the last of its kind in the country.

The ship SS Great Britain in its dry dock
SS Great Britain Trust jointly won the sustainability award in 2023.

News

Could you be Sustainable Project of the Year 2024?

Enter the sustainability category for the Museums + Heritage Awards to showcase your approach to managing or communicating the impact of the climate crisis.
A visitor listens through an exhibition headset in front of a display of information about faith
The Faith Museum, Bishop Auckland.

Projects

Restoring and reinterpreting Auckland Castle

This bold heritage-led regeneration project aims to create inspiring experiences and learnings on faith for visitors to County Durham.

A group of children and adults sit and stand as they pose for a photo while cutting a ribbon.
Local children joined National Galleries of Scotland for the opening of the new Scottish galleries at the National. Credit Neil Hanna

Projects

Celebrating Scotland’s Art: The Scottish National Gallery Project

10 accessible gallery spaces boasting the work of pioneering Scottish artists have transformed visitors’ experience of the national collection.

Person taking a picture of the South African flag on a phone camera at The Anti-Apartheid Legacy: Centre of Memory and Learning event
People at a community event discussing The Anti-Apartheid Legacy: Centre of Memory and Learning.

Projects

The UK’s first centre dedicated to anti-apartheid heritage

This project will restore the former headquarters of the African National Congress at 28 Penton Street, London, creating a new centre to share the stories of South Africa's liberation.

Two people install an artwork in an exhibition
Installation of 'Hair: Untold Stories', Horniman Museum and Gardens, December 2021.

News

Art Fund calls for museum partners in new UK-wide programme

Apply to Going Places, a new initiative to help you engage new audiences with your collections through collaborative working and touring exhibitions.