Deadline: 01-Nov-2024
The Queer Heritage and Collections Network (QHCN), with support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, is pleased to announce an open call to work with Network members to co-design and co-deliver at least 6 new Creative Projects with English museums/heritage organisations.
The selected projects will benefit the widest possible audiences, address key priorities identified by the Network and exemplify leading-edge practice in the area of LGBTQIA+ heritage and collections engagement.
Projects must take place in or in collaboration with English museums/heritage organisations. Project leads will take part in a bespoke Development Programme that supports all participants to develop and implement leading-edge approaches to LGBTQIA+ collections engagement that are both affirming for groups whose histories are underrepresented in the country’s heritage and that build enriching, stimulating and engaging experiences for wider audiences.
The Programme will include:
- mentoring and knowledge exchange between more and less experienced practitioners;
- engagement with world leading research and practice (in LGBTQIA+ collections engagement, public programming, co-production and inclusive transformation)
- support in the development of strategies to deal with a fast-changing, often challenging social & cultural landscape;
- input from UK and selected international thought and practice leaders (through visiting speakers, workshops and a study visit) to challenge and inspire the cohort to innovate.
Funding Information
- They are accepting submissions for project proposals for up to £10,000 (with a minimum of £3,000 per project).
- QHCN will offer the project funding, mentorship and a place in the Development Programme that is built around the Creative Projects. In exchange, each lead organisation will commit to 50% project match with a minimum 5% financial contribution (e.g., if applying for £10,000, the organisation would commit at least £500 in cash and £9,500 of in-kind support).
- The start date of projects is flexible. The funding will support community/public engagement activity between March 2025 and December 2026.
Criteria
- Projects will show potential to address under-represented aspects of queer heritage practice and/or to generate new insights for the sector
- Projects must seek to increase public engagement with, and use of, museum or archive collections and/or historic places, sites, or landscapes
- Projects will demonstrate potential to contribute to leading-edge approaches to LGBTQIA+ heritage that are developed in collaboration with LGBTQIA+ communities, intersectional, responsive to the changing issues that different LGBTQIA+ communities face, that are affirming and joyful for communities who do not typically see themselves represented in England’s heritage and museums and that are, at the same time, enriching and engaging for wider audiences
- The panel will be seeking to select projects that are diverse in terms of collections type, organisational size, rural/urban location, including at least 2 locations in Priority Places and Levelling Up for Culture Places, as defined by ACE guidelines
- The panel will be seeking to select projects that are led by individuals or teams with the potential to learn from the wider cohort and contribute to the accompanying Development Programme
- Projects will demonstrate potential to advance the inclusive Values and Ambitions of the Network
For more information, visit QHCN.