Second major grant for RWA’s redevelopment project

The Royal West of England Academy has received a second major grant towards a project that will open up its building to attract more visitors and engage more people with art and creativity.

The RWA has been awarded a grant of £305,000 from Arts Council England’s Small Capital Grants programme towards a project that will address essential building needs for Bristol’s oldest art gallery.

The building project will include the remodelling of the building’s exterior; reconfiguration of the café and retail spaces; the transformation of the forecourt into a social space; the introduction of advanced digital technology; upgraded utilities to improve energy efficiency and accessibility. The project will help to deliver a step-change in financial viability, environmental sustainability, digital infrastructure and accessibility.

The RWA’s ‘Light and Inspiration’ project aims to transform the gallery’s financial viability, environmental sustainability, digital infrastructure and accessibility

All of the work is designed to attract more people into the Grade II* listed Victorian building, described by Sir Nicholas Serota (Chair, Arts Council) as one of the most beautiful galleries in the country. As a self-supporting independent charity which currently receives just 1.5% of its funding in public subsidy (a grant from Bristol City Council), the RWA’s ability to attract more visitors and deliver sustainable income is essential for it to continue as an art gallery.

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The Arts Council’s capital funding will go towards enabling the RWA to continue using its outstanding galleries to present great work from the past and present, including new commissions from emerging artists and exhibitions featuring iconic historic masterpieces brought to the region for the first time from national and international collections.

The work is part of a wider £3.5m transformational capital project, Light and Inspiration, addressing essential maintenance work to the building and roof whilst also replacing the vast roof lanterns (skylights), cooling the galleries. Alongside this work, a programme of activities will work with some of Bristol’s most vulnerable communities, inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds.

The ‘Light and Inspiration’ project will enhance the RWA’s accessibility for disadvantaged individuals and communities in Bristol and beyond

The gallery received Development funding of £178,600 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) earlier in the year (see our story here), which will help it towards applying, in June 2020, for a full National Lottery grant of £1.37m towards the project.

Match-funding of just under £1m needs to be pledged prior to the second round submission to The National Lottery Heritage Fund in June 2020 in order for the project to go ahead.

“We’re so grateful to have been awarded this grant from Arts Council England, which is an essential contribution to a project that will transform both our ability to welcome new visitors and our financial sustainability,” said RWA director Alison Bevan.

“We’re immensely proud that we’re able to exhibit such a wealth of talent in our beautiful gallery spaces – over 800 artists over the past year – and this grant will go towards ensuring that we can continue inspiring and nurturing creativity for many years to come.”

In addition to the grants from Arts Council England and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, contributions have already been pledged towards the project by the John James Bristol Foundation, Foyle Foundation, Linbury Trust, Nisbet Trust and Bristol Port.

Read more: Multi-million-pound project hopes to secure future of RWA