Gillingham Museum Awarded Funding for its Future - press release.
Gillingham Museum and Local History Society has received a grant
for an exciting project to build the resilience of the organisation,
helping it to improve its identity and grow its connection with the
community of North Dorset.
The successful application for £6,450 has been awarded by Museum Development
South West under the Small Open Grant scheme, with thanks to support from Arts
Council England and the Art Fund.
The project, which runs until the end of January 2025, will commission a professional
consultant to undertake a study and help the museum to better understand how its
existing and potential users engage with the museum and its collections. An updated
brand identity will be created, informed by community consultation events designed
to gauge the opinion of audiences from Gillingham and the surrounding villages. The
project will also lead to the launch of new social media platforms, improving how the
Museum shares its incredible stories and historic collections with the community.
Managed entirely by volunteers, Gillingham Local History Society was founded in
1953. It runs the town’s Museum which has inhabited the current Museum premises,
located next to Gillingham’s library, since 1996. The Museum holds many rich and
varied artefacts in its collection, including archaeological finds, objects, ephemera,
photographs and archives. These tell the story of Dorset’s most northern town and
the immediate parishes.
David Lloyd, Chairman of Gillingham Museum and Local History Society said:
“We are extremely grateful to Museum Development South West, Arts Council
England and the Art Fund for their support with this project. The funding comes at a
crucial time, enabling this volunteer-led organisation to engage professional
expertise and develop a better understanding of the relationship between the
community and its Museum.
With such a rich and fascinating history surrounding us, we are excited to deliver a
project which will encourage and enable greater community engagement with our
town’s heritage. This will help to ensure that the Museum continues to grow and
thrive into the future.”
The Museum will be running events to consult with its community later in the year.
For news of how you can get involved in shaping the future of Gillingham’s heritage,
sign up to the Museum’s monthly newsletter at www.gillinghammuseum.co.uk
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