Royal Pavilion & Museums - £2.8M successful bid

The Royal Pavilion & Museums (RPM) has successfully bid for nearly £2.8 million over four years (£689,507a year) from Arts Council England’s National Portfolio.

This offer is conditional on an agreed business case for invigorating the Booth, Hove Museum  and Preston Manor and bringing the collections across the city closer to communities, through digital and schools activities to exhibitions, events and outreach.

At the Booth Museum a new ‘evolution gallery’ will feature a specially commissioned replica of an ‘Iguanodon Mantellisaurus’ (a type of dinosaur) and the story of its local discoverer Gideon Mantell. From birds to butterflies, flora to fossils, the Booth’s Designated collection will evolve into an interactive science centre, to share the story of what it is to be human in the natural world.

The Booth will also build on its popular events programme to attract new audiences; it has hosted award-winning life drawing classes, promenade theatre, sell-out pub quizzes, acoustic gigs and taxidermy demonstrations that have shown the venue and collections in a new light.

Hove Museum’s profile will be developed as a ‘museum of making,’ encouraging and inspiring a wide audience to experience the Craft and Film & Media collections. Programming, exhibitions and activities will explore the processes and the people behind objects in the museum with a ‘Maker in Residence’ from the University of Brighton sharing the collections with visitors.

Collaboration with local film organisations such as the Brighton Youth Film Festival, Cine-City and Film Archive South East will explore new ways of using the spaces and collections at Hove Museum.

At Preston Manor, the emphasis will be on providing greater access to parts of this historic building, and revitalising the kitchen gardens. Improvements to the visitor experience will build a better understanding of the house, collections and those who lived and worked there.

On the Royal Pavilion Estate a series of exhibitions and displays will mark key milestones over the next four years such as the 200th anniversary of the Royal Pavilion’s creator, George IV’s, ascension to the throne, and the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings.

The restoration of the Royal Pavilion’s Saloon will be completed in 2018 and the funding will enable an accompanying display to showcase the ‘behind the scenes’ work of  a range of specialists involved, including carpet makers, silk weavers, upholsterers, decorative artists and historians.

The Arts Council has previously recognised RPM’s sector expertise in the use of digital programming and technology to engage audiences. During  2018-22 a digital publishing programme will promote exhibitions, events, and the unexpected stories behind the collections. RPM aims to reach a million sessions per year across their various websites by the end of the four year period