£50K grant for Jewish Museum to enable reopening in the summer

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.