St Albans Museums to benefit from £63K Arts Council fund

St Albans City and District Council has been awarded £63,731 by Arts Council England to work with the local community in delivering the city's museums service.

The grant will be used to fund three new projects that will provide residents with the opportunity to contribute to and shape the museum service.

In addition, feedback from the projects will inform the Council's ten-year development plan for the Museum of St Albans and Verulamium Museum.

The projects will include a variety of activities which the community can get involved in and will run from October 2012 to March 2013.

They are:

• The Museum's Youth Forum. This will provide an opportunity for young people aged 14-19 years to take part in fun activities and influence what happens at the museums.

• Stake Your Claim. All members of the community are invited to share their views on what they think is special about St Albans. This can be anything from local buildings to stories that have been passed on from one generation to the next.

• Museum, Or What? Over the next few months, museum staff will be out and about in town, asking people to challenge what a museum is. This will help provide us with a bold vision of what a museum could be in the future.

Councillor Mike Wakely, Portfolio Holder for Sports, Leisure and Heritage for the Council, said: "This money from the Arts Council will help fund community projects that give residents the opportunity to let us know what they want from their local museums. They will include a number of fun activities and feedback from them will help us develop a museums service that meets the needs of the community. It will be used in our Heritage Lottery Funding application to transform the grade II* Town Hall into a state-of-the art museum to celebrate St Albans' history."

Helen Lax, East Regional Director, at Arts Council England, said: "We are delighted to be able to support four museums in the East – The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum in Bedford, the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, Southend Museums, and St Albans Museums. This funding will assist them to explore ways to grow their business including reaching new audiences and new approaches to income generation and fundraising."

To find out more about these projects and how to get involved, please visit www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk, email museum@stalbans.gov.uk or phone 01727 751810   .