Valence House Museum has been awarded £67,850 as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to help deal with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future.
Valence House Museum is one of 588 cultural and creative organisations across the country to receive urgently needed support – with £76 million of investment announced today. This follows £257 million awarded earlier in the week to 1,385 organisations from the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
This funding will be put to great use by the amazing staff at Valence House to continue to deliver the fantastic experience it is known for.
Valence House Museum is home to the museum and archive collections of Barking and Dagenham and welcomes local residents and visitors from further afield to engage with the borough’s heritage. A range of events run throughout the year and a strong educational programme helps to engage visitors both young and old.
After being closed for 7 months during the Covid-19 pandemic, Valence House re-opened on 20 October with new rules and ways of working in place to guarantee the safety of both staff and visitors. The funds received as part of the Culture Recovery Fund will help Valence House to become more financially sustainable and able to adapt to the new working environment. This grant will be used to enhance the museum’s café and retail offer, reaching new audiences through newly developed products to be sold on a new online platform.
Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement said: “It goes without saying it has been a difficult time across the cultural and heritage sector, and I welcome the fact the government has come forward with funds to help through the Cultural Recovery Fund. This funding will be put to great use by the amazing staff at Valence House to continue to deliver the fantastic experience it is known for.”
Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “Culture is an essential part of life across the country, helping to support people’s wellbeing through creativity and self-expression, bringing communities together, and fuelling our world class creative industries.
“This latest set of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund builds on those announced recently and will help hundreds of organisations to survive the next few months, ensuring that the cultural sector can bounce back after the crisis. We will continue doing everything we can to support artists and cultural and creative organisations, with further funding to be announced in the coming weeks.”