The De La Warr Pavilion is delighted to announce that we have been awarded £45,000 over the next two years through Art Fund’s Reimagine grants programme. Art Fund has awarded £1million to museums and galleries across the UK reliant on local authority support. This latest round of the programme supports museums to reimagine their approach to partnerships.
This funding will allow DLWP to continue working with our valued community partners including established and emerging artists and organisations to strengthen, build and sustain the arts ecology in Bexhill, Rother and wider into Sussex.
We continue to work together with Rother District Council, to ensure excellent cultural activities and access to our Grade I listed building are kept free to accessible to all.
Stewart Drew, Director and CEO of the De La Warr Pavilion said:
“Our surveys tell us that 86% of our visitors agree that DLWP is welcoming to all the community and 75% agree DLWP encourages participation in community life and events. Responding to vulnerable local authority funding, this fund allows us to continue our vital work with the community and re-imagine our approach, increasing resilience and building a creative and skills-based ecology in which we can all thrive.”
Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said:
“We’re extremely pleased to offer £1million in support to local-authority reliant museums and galleries across the UK through this latest round of Reimagine grants. The projects showcase the incredible value local museums have for communities and demonstrate their remarkable ambition, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit in the face of growing challenges.”
Further information will be announced soon.
About De La Warr Pavilion
The De La Warr Pavilion (DLWP) is a centre for arts, culture, creativity and skills in a Grade One Listed iconic modernist building by the sea, designed by refugee Erich Mendelsohn and émigré Serge Chermayeff. It opened in 1935 as the ‘people’s palace for art and culture’ and, almost 90 years later, continues to produce an innovative and integrated cultural programme of exhibitions, learning and creative engagement as well as a diverse and popular programme of live music and comedy. DLWP sits at the heart of its community taking the lead in the development of skills and cultural tourism the region and plays a central role in the cultural and economic growth of Sussex.
As a result of the De La Warr Pavilion’s community engagement approach, in 2023/24 it:
- Presented 4 free outdoor film screenings
- Hosted 64 community group and private hires
- Employed 149 staff, 89% of whom live in the local area
- Worked with 20 local volunteers
- Programmed 39 free creative family events and 25 free Blueprint Collective creative sessions for 16 – 22 year olds
- Welcomed 700 people to the Bexhill Jobs and Apprenticeships Fair
- Engaged over 11000 young people with our learning and skills programmes
- Worked with 43 primary, secondary and SEND/SEMH schools, and colleges
- Hosted 24 drop in sessions for Bexhill’s Ukrainian Refugees and hosted Refugee Week events with the Refugee Buddy Project, Hastings Rother & Wealden
- Welcomed 325 children from families who receive free school meals into our music, heritage, arts and free food holiday clubs
The De La Warr Pavilion receives core revenue funding from Arts Council England (NPO) and Rother District Council.
Re-imagine Grants
Reimagine grants are funded by Art Fund and made possible with support from The Headley Trust, alongside other generous trusts and supporters of the Making Connections campaign.
The funding has been prioritised to support local authority-reliant museums and galleries in response to Art Fund’s Museum Directors Survey 2024 and other pieces of research revealing the significant challenges currently facing museums and galleries.
Art Fund
Art Fund is the UK’s independent charity for art, helping museums and people to share in great art and culture for 120 years. Art Fund raises millions of pounds every year to help the UK’s museums, galleries and historic houses. The charity funds art, enabling the UK’s museums to buy and share exciting works, connect with their communities, and inspire the next generation. It builds audiences with its National Art Pass opening doors to great culture; and it amplifies the museum sector through the world’s largest museum prize, Art Fund Museum of the Year, and creative events that bring the UK’s museums together. Art Fund is people-powered by 135,000 members who buy a National Art Pass, and the donors, trusts and foundations who support the charity.
The National Art Pass provides free or discounted entry to over 400 museums, galleries and historic places, 50% off major exhibitions, and Art Quarterly magazine.
www.artfund.org