News Release

7^th November 2022

National Holocaust Centre and Museum receives major

Arts Council England Grant

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum is delighted to announce the renewal of its appointment as a National Portfolio Organisation by Arts Council England for a further three years.

The award of £400,000 a year is an extraordinary increase of £100,000 per year, reflecting our ability to work on a national stage from the Midlands. At this time of economic crisis, it is also a vindication of the creative expertise across a wide range of physical and digital channels emanating from the Museum in Nottinghamshire. A significant contributor to levelling up the local community, we boast an Education department working at the heart of the national curriculum, engaging with primary, secondary and now tertiary level students and adult groups around the UK.

Founded by the Christian Smith family nearly thirty years ago, the Museum is a major heritage and educational visitor attraction in the area. The team have produced world-leading interactive experiences including The Forever Project which enables a Q&A with a Holocaust survivor even when they are no longer alive; The Journey exhibition and app which immerses the visitor or user in one refugee boy’s story of the Kindertransport; The Eye As Witness, a ‘mixed reality’ exhibition in which visitors use VR goggles to ‘step into’ an infamous picture of the Warsaw Ghetto; as well as short films including the multi award winning Edek, which tells the harrowing story of survivor Janine Webber through the medium of Hip Hop.

Peter Knott, Area Director for Arts Council England said: "The National Holocaust Centre and Museum has used research and cutting-edge digital technology to keep stories of Holocaust survivors alive and we're delighted to be increasing our investment in their work over the next three years. They provide strong learning and educational programmes for students, children and young people to ensure that the next generation can learn from the past and it'll be great to see them continue to educate and inspire people in Nottinghamshire and beyond.”

Henry Grunwald OBE KC, Chair of the Board of Trustees said:

“I greatly welcome the Arts Council decision. It is an endorsement of our work to date and an encouragement for our future plans. We look forward to working with them in the years ahead as we increase our outreach to make the lessons of the Holocaust ever more relevant to present day society.”

Marc Cave, Museum Director said: “We are super thankful both to the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. As storytellers, we pride ourselves on relating the lessons of the Holocaust in the visual & verbal language of now; ACE have always been wonderfully supportive of the creative skills to do that. With this increased support for the next three years, we’ll be able to apply an ever-richer level of experiential, narrative and tech creativity to the job in hand. And as a Londoner, may I say how good it is to be able to make a national impact from a region other than London!”

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

[email protected]