Reading Museum of English Rural Life awarded grant

Reading’s Museum of English Rural Life will be awarded £275,000 and work with Reading Museum on a new programme for 2014/15, including a series of Reading in Conflict events commemorating the First World War Centenary in 2014.

The museum which is owned and managed by the University of Reading, has received the award as part of a funding package worth more than £375,000 made to museums in the region by Arts Council England’s Renaissance Strategic Support Fund.

The Renaissance funding will enable both museums to share skills and collections to create a programme which reaches out to and engages with local communities.

The project will also benefit the local community by addressing issues of employability, through incorporating a programme of ‘fair access’ internship and work experience. It will also provide opportunities for those normally excluded from volunteering, due to financial reasons, to acquire skills and experience enhancing their ability to secure employment or gain access to further training or education.