The National Maritime Museum Cornwall has secured much needed funding from the Weston Culture Fund to develop and enhance its digital learning and outreach service.

Using the £117,650 award, the Museum’s Learning team hope to develop new ways to connect to their existing audience as well as a diverse range of newcomers to the organisation.

Their ambition is to help more people to engage with the museum’s collections and stories, not just in Cornwall but nationally and even internationally.

The funding received by the Museum will also help support the upgrade of the digital infrastructure in the museum’s lecture theatre to enable the broadcasting of a new lecture series this autumn.

The lecture series will feature a number of talks by leading academics and subject specialists and the museum hopes, pending future decisions on restrictions, to welcome audiences back to the building, too.

Philippa Charles, director of the Weston Culture Fund has said, "our cultural sector is at the heart of our local communities providing not only entertainment but education and inspiration for many.

"Our Trustees were impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit shown across the arts in response to Covid-19 and it was a privilege to hear what organisations had been doing to not only survive but also to reinvent the way they reach audiences.

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"What really stood out was the level of collaboration and support they had for each other and the determination to keep going, despite the increasingly difficult situation."

Simon Sherrard, chairman of National Maritime Museum Cornwall added, "we are delighted to receive this timely and generous support from the Garfield Weston Foundation.

"This award gives us a wonderful opportunity to create a first class digital programme which will enable us to extend our reach and demonstrate the veracity of the ‘National’ in our name."

The Garfield Weston Foundation established the Weston Culture Fund to support the UK’s cultural sector.

Through the Weston Culture Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation has granted over £30 million to more than 100 organisations across the UK.