Arts Council England announces funding for Gunnersbury Park Museum for 2023 - 2026.
We are delighted to announce that Gunnersbury Park Museum will become a National Portfolio Organisation, becoming the first such organisation in Ealing and one of three in Hounslow.
National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs), are chosen by the Arts Council England based on their ability to deliver ACE’s ‘let’s create’ strategy and engage communities and individuals in arts, culture and heritage.
Gunnersbury will receive £129,500 per year for the next three years. The funding from Arts Council will enable us to build on the amazing work that was made possible through our previous National Lottery Heritage Fund project, taking the museum service from strength to strength
Our inspirational schools programme will benefit in particular from the funding, as we look to expand to include more outreach, enhanced digital learning and start a heritage careers-focussed programme for secondary schools. Focusing on further development, we will create a Community Cultural Champions programme, which will provide training and skills development for local people
We will further deliver an exciting and regularly changing exhibition programme, across both the museum and the park, as well as online and out in the wider community. The programme will celebrate the Creative Industries in Ealing and Hounslow – past, present and future - including well known sites such as the iconic Isleworth and Ealing Studios.
As the local museum for Ealing and Hounslow, continuing to represent our community is key. We will work in partnership with our communities to collect new objects and archive material of relevance to local people. These materials will form the centre of co-curated displays in our permanent galleries. We will also be engaging with our local Creative Enterprise Zones to collect new material and work with our contemporary creative industries to create new displays throughout the museum and showcase local talent through exciting programming.
David Babington Smith, chair of the Directors at Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC said “This is excellent news for Gunnersbury, and for west London, as only the second organisation to receive NPO status in the area. We are very grateful to the Arts Council for this significant grant towards our learning and museum services, which will allow us to bring more arts, culture and heritage engagement opportunities to the residents of Ealing and Hounslow.”
Ellie Lewis-Nunes, Heritage & Communities Manager at Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC said “We’re delighted to have received this investment from the Arts Council England. As the museum for both Ealing and Hounslow we are thrilled to be able to engage even wider audiences with a high quality cultural offer.”
Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Member for Parking, Parks and Leisure, Councillor Salman Shaheen said: “Hounslow has some of the leading parks and green spaces in London, and I’m delighted that Gunnersbury Park has been recognised by the Arts Council as a National Portfolio Organisation. By becoming a National Portfolio Organisation, Gunnersbury becomes the second organisation in West London to be recognised by the Arts Council, following Brentford’s Waterman’s Park. Gunnersbury has been rightly praised for its ability to engage communities with compelling arts and culture, and NPO recognition is testament to all the hard work by Gunnersbury, the Council, and its partners. Core funding provided by the Arts Council ensures that the Park is able to work with the Hounslow and Ealing communities to deliver a best-in-class schools and exhibition programme, and manage the necessary staffing and resourcing requirements. We encourage visitors and residents alike to discover all that Gunnersbury Park & Museum has to offer, all year round.”
Jan De Schynkel, Arts and Culture Manager, Ealing Council: "Up until today, Ealing was one of the very few London boroughs without an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisations (NPO). Therefore, one of our strategic priorities was to support aspiring Ealing-based organisations to become an ACE NPO and/or attract outside NPOs to be based in Ealing. We are delighted with the news that Gunnersbury Park Museum will receive core support for the next 3 years as a new NPO. This is well-deserved and recognises Gunnersbury’s hard work of trying to engage meaningfully with people and places. This will build capacity to deliver transformational programmes and exhibitions that are vital and relevant for our diverse communities."
Arts Council England Chair, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “As well as continuing our commitment to our many established and renowned cultural organisations, I am deeply proud of the support we will be giving to those new organisations which will help ignite creativity across the country. We are facing economic pressures at present but this funding is about an investment in our future. This portfolio will support the next generation of visionary inventors, makers, performers and artists. In particular, the growth of our funding for organisations that support and develop work for children represents a profoundly important long-term investment in our country’s talent.”
Arts Council England Chief Executive, Darren Henley, said: “Together, each of the 990 organisations that have been offered funding today will contribute to a portfolio that is rich, varied and truly national. This is our widest ever spread of investment across the country, ensuring that many more people will have access to a wider choice of exceptional art, culture and creative opportunities on their doorsteps. We are in tough times but we must remember creativity brings with it extraordinary dividends, boosting our country’s economic growth, creating jobs, bringing communities closer together, and making us happier as individuals. Everyone deserves to enjoy the benefits it brings, and with this investment, we believe we’ve taken a decisive step towards making that vision a reality.”
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said: "Thanks to this new government funding package, spreading more money to more communities than ever before, people living in areas from Wolverhampton to Wigan and Crawley to Chesterfield will now get to benefit from the deep economic and social rewards culture can bring. We continue to support our icons such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Shakespeare Company, but today's announcement will see organisations in places all too often overlooked get the support they need to transform access to the arts for everyone - no matter where they live."