Diversity Matters

The eighth year of the Diversity Matters grant programme has allocated £6,000 (three grants of £2,000) to London’s non-national, non-NPO museums in 2025–2026.

The grants enable museums to work with artists and groups from under-represented and under-served communities to co-curate an exhibition by March 2026.

Applications are now open for 2025–2026

Closing date for applications is Mon 19 May 2025 at 5pm. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

The grants will support projects that enable museums to:

• work with artists and/or groups from protected characteristic communities to co-curate, co-produce and co-create a public exhibition
• provide a public platform (through an exhibition) that gives these artist(s)/group(s) space to review, reflect and respond to museum collections either by:
  • enhancing existing collections through a re-visiting collections project, whereby the artist(s)/group(s) responds and reflects on the museum’s current themes and objects
  • enabling a contemporary collecting project, which gathers oral testimonies, objects etc. from the artist(s)/group(s) so the museum’s collections are up-to-date and relevant

Projects will need to be completed by Sun 8 Mar 2026. More information on eligibility and the type of projects that will be supported can be found in the guidance for applicants below.

If you would like to apply, please complete and return an application form, along with any supporting documents to [email protected], no later than 5pm on Mon 19 May 2025.

If you are unsure whether your project would be eligible, have questions about the criteria or would like to discuss your project in more detail, please get in touch with Rachael Crofts, or join us at one of our online coffee morning sessions on Thu 24 Apr or Thu 1 May.

We will announce our current grant museums for 2025–2026 in June once the assessment panel has met and the applicants have been notified of the outcome of their application.

The grants funded the following museums:

• Bromley Historic Collections
• The Charterhouse
• Dorich House Museum

Projects were completed by March 2025 and detailed case studies will be available from June 2025 onwards.

The grants funded the following museums:

• Bethlem Museum of the Mind
• Bruce Castle
• The Charterhouse

The grants funded the following museums:

• Headstone Manor and Museum
• Gunnersbury Park Museum
• Museum of Croydon