New England Regional Art Museum receives $8,660 through Community Heritage Grants

29 Oct 2015

 

FEDERAL Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce said a grant of $8,660 delivered through the Community Heritage Grants programme, would allow the New England Regional Art Museum [NERAM] to undertake important archiving and storage of prints from the Howard Hinton, Chandler Coventry and NERAM collections.

 

Mr Joyce welcomed the funding announcement from the Minister for the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield, which was part of more than $430,000 for 75 community organisations to preserve and increase access to locally owned and nationally significant collections.

 

“This funding will provide important support for NERAM to preserve the incredible collection of prints in storage at the museum and this will also contribute to Australia’s national identity,” Mr Joyce said.

 

NERAM’s Registrar and Collections Manager, Jennifer Butler said the $8,660 grant was the third largest to any of the community organisations in this round of the programme.

 

The Community Heritage Grants program is managed by the National Library of Australia and provides grants of up to $15,000 to community based museums, libraries, archives and historical societies.

 

Funded activities include:

assessments by qualified specialists of the significance and preservation needs of collections;

training for staff and volunteers in conservation and collection management;

the digitisation of historical material; and

the purchase of vital archival and storage equipment.

Mr Joyce said the Community Heritage Grants program has provided a total of $5.7 million to more than 1,200 projects since 1994.

 

He said NERAM’s collection of more than 5,000 pieces was one of the most significant in regional Australia and it was a matter of great pride to him that it resided in his Electorate.

 

The grant will be used to relocate prints from their current storage area, provide new storage boxes and racks and increase the amount of space in the climate controlled packing room.

 

The program is supported through the Ministry for the Arts and four of our country’s leading cultural institutions – the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive and the National Museum of Australia.

 

More information about the Community Heritage Grants program and a full list of funding recipients is available at http://arts.gov.au/collections/community-heritage-grants

 

 

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