£50K grant for Jewish Museum to enable reopening in the summer
Camden-based site received 'generous' sum from the Culture Recovery Fund as it looks to emerge from the pandemic
The Jewish Museum has said a government grant of £50,000 will enable it to start opening to the public this summer.
The Camden-based site was given the boost as part of the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund, which is distributing £1.57bn to thousands of organisations amid the impact of the pandemic.
The museum, run by chair Nick Viner and interim director Frances Jeens, was forced to close its doors and go online due to Covid-19, engaging with more than 100,000 people during lockdown.
The £49,833 grant will help it reopen to priority group such as schoolchildren, researchers, communal groups, and private visits, from June 2021.
Frances Jeens said: “The Museum and its dedicated staff and Trustees have been working hard this past year to adapt our programmes and change our practices so that we can emerge from this year with financial resilience, ambitious programming and with a new community built around us.”
“This funding supports the incredible digital work the Museum has delivered” while it also “supports our most exciting next step, the reopening of our physical doors and the welcoming back of visitors”
Its chair, Nick Viner said the grant was “extremely generous”, and that the funding, “benefitting the museum and our wider community, will ensure that access to our unique collection and expert staff can both continue and develop.”
With more than £800 million having already been distributed since its launch in July 2020, supporting almost 3,800 groups, Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said it helped thousands of organisations “survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced”, and it would now help “our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”
The funding announced last week is from a £400m pot, awarded by Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
