Diversity Matters

The ninth year of the Diversity Matters grant programme will allocate £6,000 (three grants of £2,000) to London’s non-national, non-NPO museums in 2026–2027.

The grants enable museums to work with artists and groups from under-represented and under-served communities to co-curate an exhibition by March 2027.

Closing date for applications is 12pm on Mon 18 May 2026. 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, or
  • 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 7 Mar 2027. More information on eligibility as well as the type of projects the grants programme will support can be found in the guidance for applicants below.

If you'd like to apply, please complete and return an application form, along with any supporting documents to [email protected].

If you're unsure whether your project would be eligible, have questions about the grant criteria or would like to discuss your project in more detail, please do get in touch with with Rachael Crofts, Museum Development Officer Audiences. Or join us at one of two online coffee sessions on Tue 21 Apr or Thu 23 Apr.

We'll announce our current grant museums for 2026–2027 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:

• Brent Museum and Archives
• Islington Museum
• Queer Britain Museum

Projects were be completed by March 2026 and detailed case studies will be available from July 2026 onwards.

The grants funded the following museums:

• Bromley Historic Collections
• The Charterhouse
• Dorich House Museum

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