How to set up a touring exhibition – costs and fundraising
Abstracts of presentations by Vicky Dawson to the workshop How to set up a Touring Exhibition,
delivered as part of the SW Museum Skills Programme at the Museum in the Park, Stroud and the
Museum of Bath at Work in October and November 2011.
These workshops were funded by the project Treasures from the Earth, which received funding from the
Heritage Lottery Fund and Renaissance South West.
© Vicky Dawson
Sample expenditure
Concept and exhibition
development
Project manager *
Curator
Conservator
Designer
Photography
Marketing
Recruitment
Fundraising, timetabling, co-ordination,
partnership building, marketing, bookings,
facilities reports, budget & meeting
management, reporting
Concept development, research, script
writing, image sourcing, project steering,
exhibition manual content, fundraising,
documentation
Object condition survey, conservation
work and advice, mount making, cases
for transport
Exhibition design (layout, graphics and
cases), captions, oversee production,
publicity & interactive design and oversee
production
Image sourcing and purchase, new
commissions
Visitor survey research, partnership
development, promotion of hire
Cost for recruiting temporary staff and
commissioned work
Packing cases and
materials
Production /purchase of
display cases
Production of interactives
Production of graphics &
captions
Publicity materials
Officer travel
Exhibition manual
production
Tour
Project manager *
Conservator
Registrar/curator
Activity programme
Renewal & replacement
Installation & dismantling
Transport
Officer travel
Insurance
Evaluation
Tour management
Condition checking, remedial conservation
Loan documentation
Budget for host museums (optional)
Wear and tear
Manpower
Van hire/shipping company
May be needed for transport between
venues
Materials and manpower to do it
Project contingency
* This role could be undertaken by a member of the museum workforce or specially recruited for the
project
Sources of funding and income
Originating museum(s) budget
Fundraising
Partnerships
Sponsorship
Hire fees
Help in kind
Sale of tickets
Sales
HLF, ACE and similar, grant giving trusts
Eg health / sports, higher education organisations,
depending on exhibition theme
c. 10% of production costs
Volunteer time, loan of vehicle, etc
% of ticket sales if an additional admission fee is
charged
Catalogues, merchandise, 10% of takings if a selling
exhibition, eg of crafts
Sources of funding
Heritage Lottery Fund
Touring exhibitions meet the HLF’s aims of getting more people to learn about and participate in their
heritage. Applications in relation to touring exhibitions would be eligible to apply to its ‘Young Roots’,
‘Your Heritage’ and ‘Heritage’ grants programmes.
www.hlf.org.uk
Grants for the Arts
This is ACE’s Lottery funded grant programme. It funds projects that ‘engage people in England with
arts activities’ and/or ‘help artists and arts organisations carry out work’. It awards grants of between
£1,000 and £100,000 for activities up to 3 years. Applicants are required to find at least 10% (but
nearer on average 65%) from other sources.
ACE Museum Challenge Fund
Details of this funding stream will be released by ACE by the end of 2011. It is anticipated that all nonnational museums and those regional museums not in receipt of a major grant award will be eligible to
apply for project funding. However, it is thought that in 2012/2013 all the cash will go to existing hub
museums to fund the last year of transition to the new Renaissance.
Association of Art Historians
The AAH is a charity that promotes the professional practice and public understanding of art history. It
runs a Museums and Exhibitions bursary of between £200 and £5,000 that funds academic collaboration
with museums. Open only to members – individual membership £45, institutional £150.
www.aah.org.uk
Finding information on grant giving trusts and how to apply for charitable funding
Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF)
ACF is the leading association for charities in the UK who provide grants. ACF also provides a list of
trusts and charities. The website contains extra advice on applying for grants
www.acf.org.uk
The Directory of Social Change (DSC)
The DSC provides information and training to voluntary organisations. They publish several funding
guides and handbooks, including ‘The Arts Funding Guide’ and ‘The Complete Fundraising Handbook’.
They are expensive so best consult them at your county library.
www.dsc.org.uk
www.j4b.co.uk
This website offers comprehensive information, updated daily, on government grants for both
businesses and voluntary groups. It also holds information on publicly funded organisations that provide
help and advice.
www.charitiesdirect.com
A database of UK charities.
www.charity-commission.gov.uk
You can search for charities by name, area of operation, keyword, etc on the Charity Commission
website. The charity’s entry usually contains links to their website.
www.swfed.org.uk/resources/funding-links
The SW Fed maintains a list of funding sources. If you are generous enough to share your knowledge
about a source of funding, please let us know and we will add it to the site.
Sponsorship
Touring exhibitions lend themselves well to attracting sponsorship as they offer several bites of the
cherry and a wider variety of audiences. Help may be in cash or kind – transport, insurance, printing
costs, etc
Arts & Business
A&B helps businesses and arts organisations to come together to create partnerships to benefit
themselves and the community. A&B publishes books and directories on sponsorship in the arts.
http://artsandbusiness.org.uk/