We're excited to be one of 23 arts and heritage organisations selected to take part in the development phase of Art Fund's Going Places - a new UK-wide programme that will engage underrepresented audiences with museum collections through collaborative touring exhibitions, with lead support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Organisations taking part in the development phase of this new programme span the breadth of the UK, from the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum to Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham and Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance.

Seven networks have been established to develop plans for two touring exhibitions over five years. Local communities will be involved in shaping exhibition themes and outreach programming and will bring their voices to each display by reinterpreting collections to tell new stories. If Art Fund is successful with a subsequent delivery phase application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and with further fundraising, the networks will go on to produce their exhibitions with audiences across the country from 2025 to 2030.

One network of organisations from each devolved nation (Carmarthenshire Museums; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum) will explore local heritage and traditions of making – such as Irish linen, Scottish wool and Welsh tin-making – through objects from their collections including textiles, costume and paintings.

Going Places builds on the recommendations of the 2022 research report Going Places: Touring and shared exhibitions in the UK, commissioned by Art Fund and Creative Scotland, which revealed that touring and shared exhibition partnerships are a key way to meet the audience demand for high-quality, accessible exhibitions.

The development of Going Places is made possible with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and additional support from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Full list of development phase partners and networks

Founding the Future

• Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum
• Bournemouth Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, Guildford
• The Bowes Museum, County Durham

Communities of Making

• Carmarthenshire Museums
• Inverness Museum & Art Gallery
• Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum

New Faces New Focus

• Aberdeenshire Museums Service
• Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council (FE McWilliam Gallery; Armagh County Museum
• The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre)
  Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool

Four Lanterns

• Blackwell – The Arts & Crafts house (Lakeland Arts), Windermere
• Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
• Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham
• William Morris Gallery, London

The Journeys We Take

• Hartlepool Art Gallery
• The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery (University of Leeds)
• Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Green Spaces, Shared Places

• Arlington Court and the National Trust Carriage Museum, Exmoor
• Dales Countryside Museum, Yorkshire
  Sunderland Culture
• The National Memorial Arboretum (NMA), Staffordshire

Long Distance Connections (Female Artists)

• Museums Worcestershire
• Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance
• OnFife

Jenny Waldman, director, Art Fund, said: “We’re delighted to help museums and galleries work together to share their collections with local communities across the UK through innovative and sustainable approaches to exhibition-making. Through the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund and Going Places, there will be more opportunities than ever for people to enjoy exceptional art on their doorsteps.

“We’re incredibly grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation for their generous support towards the Weston Loan Programme, which has supported over 90 organisations since the scheme launched seven years ago. And it’s thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund that museums from all corners of the UK – from Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham to Penlee House in Penzance – will collaborate and work with local communities to tell new stories through Going Places. Our National Art Pass members help Art Fund make all these initiatives possible.”

Carmarthenshire Museums -

Caption and credit: Carmarthenshire Museum. Contemporary ceramics. © Courtesy CofGâr

Inverness Museum & Art Gallery -

Caption and credit: Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, exterior. © Courtesy Inverness Museum and Art Gallery

Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum -

Caption and credit: Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum, exterior. © Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum