Eligibility
Who and what the Art Fund will support
The Art Fund can offer significant financial assistance to UK public museums, galleries, historic houses, libraries and archives to help with the purchase of works of art and objects for their permanent collections. Applicants must be open for at least half the week for at least 6 months of the year and accredited with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
We will support the acquisition of extant works of art and a wide range of other objects of aesthetic interest, dating from antiquity to the present day.
Within this broad category our criteria include:
- objects of national and international importance, including high value items subject to temporary export licence deferral or being offered with tax remission
- objects of great local interest judged to be of good museum quality
- objects which will aesthetically enrich collections and support the expansion and development of new areas of collecting
We do not usually support commissions, but can do so for exceptional projects, and would encourage any applicant with a project in mind to call the Programmes Office to discuss the proposal.
We will not support
- applications if the applicant has already purchased or made a commitment to purchase the object, or made a financial commitment to the project.
- applications for other costs associated with acquisitions, such as the conservation and restoration of works, transport and storage costs, temporary or permanent exhibitions and digitisation projects
- applications from individuals, artist’s groups, commercial organisations, hospitals, places of worship, schools or higher educational institutions
- applications for funding towards professional development, travel or research
