Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge

Having broken all previous attendance records with its Vermeer exhibition, Fitzwilliam Museum was celebrating again this week, following the announcement the eight accredited Cambridge University museums were named by the Arts Council as being among 16 winning bidders for a share of £60 million “Renaissance” money.

The Fitzwilliam led the bid by the eight – Kettle’s Yard, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, the University Museum of Zoology, the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Polar Museum/Scott Polar Research Institute and the Museum of Classical Archaeology, collectively known as UCM – which was rated ‘outstanding’ on all five major judging criteria.

These include world-class leadership and excellence in all aspects of museum work, creating greater cultural diversity of audiences and the numbers of people inspired by the museums’ collections and research, through actual visits or via electronic media, and offering more opportunities for children and young adults to get involved.

Dr Timothy Potts, director of Fitzwilliam, said “We are greatly encouraged that the Arts Council England has fully supported us in our ambitions.

“Between all eight museums we offer access to a wide range of collections representing the arts and humanities. All eight museums remain free to visitors, as well as providing a critical resource for research and teaching.”

The amounts of money each museum will receive will be made known in April.