Cornwall Council recognises the importance of the Royal Cornwall Museum (RCM) to residents and visitors in telling the story of the Duchy.
The RCM and Cornwall Council are committed to working together, alongside other partners, to find a long-term solution to keep the museum running, supported by appropriate funding.
In the short term, a meeting between the Council and RCM to discuss the immediate impact of the change in the way that the Council funds creative and culture organisations, through its new the Culture and Creative Investment Programme, is being set up.
Then, over the summer, in a bid to find a sustainable solution to the funding needs of RCM, a meeting with other strategic partners will take place to develop a plan for the long-term future and success of the museum.
Cornwall Council portfolio holder for neighbourhoods Carol Mould said: “When we announced the successful applicants to the Culture and Creative Investment Programme, which replaced the cultural revenue grants programme, we acknowledged that the change in emphasis and the objectively scored application process meant that some applicants would be disappointed not to be successful in their bid for Council funding.”
“This is no reflection on their excellent work in culture and the creative arts and we had already said we want to work with them to unlock other potential funding opportunities from partner organisations in the future.”
Carol added: “The Council has supported the RCM over many years as part of the Council’s cultural revenue grants programme. All recipients were informed that that funding stream was ending to be replaced by the Culture and Creative Investment Programme. Applications were invited to the new Investment Programme and it has become clear that this is not the appropriate funding stream to support the RCM. However, their work and their offer are clearly important to many in Cornwall and beyond and we want to work with them to find an alternative way forward.”
Story posted 6 July 2022