Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. We exist to help protect and enrich the UK’s museum and gallery collections and to ensure that as many people as possible can access and enjoy them.
Together with our supporters, donors, and 130,000 National Art Pass and Student Art Pass members, we help save important works of art and artefacts, fund professional development and widely promote the benefits of visiting museums to new audiences.
From the smallest local history collection to the largest world-leading art institution, museums play a vital role in the health and happiness of our society. Providing inspiration, education and opportunities for collaboration, they help communities thrive, and can provide a lifeline in times of trouble, as the pandemic has shown.
We believe that supporting this rich resource is an essential, ongoing and collective endeavour.
What We Do
- Build and sustain collections
We give grants to help museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections, as well as help to place gifts and bequests. We also support museums in maintaining the irreplaceable works in their care.
- Save works of art
Works of national significance can be lost through neglect or sale into private hands. We work hard to place such items in UK public collections for present and future generations to enjoy.
- Develop professional skills
The high quality of UK collections depends on the expertise of museum professionals, from curators to conservators. We support the museum workforce by funding training and career development opportunities.
- Share art with people
Connecting people with art and culture is at the heart of what we do. We champion the benefits of museums and galleries far and wide and help museums to build their relationships with visitors and local communities.
As an independent charity, we receive no funding from government. We are supported by our National Art Pass and Student Art Pass members, as well as donations, legacies and gifts from individuals, grants from trusts and foundations, and the public’s response to campaigns and special appeals.
Being independent gives us the ability to be flexible, act quickly and make bold decisions in support of the sector. Our core costs are covered by returns from investments which means we can direct the vast majority of our income straight to museums.
Our Board of Trustees oversees the direction of Art Fund and considers all gifts and bequests of art and grant applications for acquisitions. The day-to-day running of the charity is in the hands of our senior management team, supported by a hard-working group of nearly 70 members of staff.
Everything we do is built towards supporting the sector in improving access to art for all.
Looking To The Future
In the last two years, museums have evolved rapidly, and Art Fund is moving fast too. The pandemic has helped confirm our strengths. We’re:
- Independent: not relying on any once source of funding, free to pursue what matters most.
- Responsive: understanding the needs of everyone we work with, across museums, funders and audiences; clear but never strident.
- People-powered: a special kind of membership organisation, with the financial strength and audience insights of 130,000 National Art Pass holders.
- Pioneering: since 1903, making new ideas happen, happy to experiment and to fund experimentation, ready to take risks.
- A quietly radical force for good: opening out art and museums for more people.
We have developed a new five-year strategy for 2022-2027 which builds on our 118-year history to connect our foundational role – saving art for the nation – with newer activities, under four pillars:
- Funding art
A future where the most remarkable art and objects – from different cultures and in different forms – are in public collections, open to everyone.
- Audience-making
A future where everyone feels empowered to discover, visit and use our wonderful museums and galleries.
- Amplify the museum sector
A future where museums and galleries are confident and valued, central to their communities, and constantly becoming more inclusive and more sustainable.
- Strengthen our organisation
A quietly radical force for change, with a business model, a diverse workforce, the best digital capability, and processes that are easy, productive and green.