Just the ticket - much loved museum scoops £5m National Lottery win

Sunderland City Council has secured £5.2m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the city's much-loved Museum and Winter Gardens.

This vital funding will support an estimated £13.1m four-year redevelopment of the museum, plans for which have been shaped by the views of residents and visitors.

The plans will see exciting changes, including the relocation of the main entrance into our award-winning Mowbray Park, new exhibition galleries and displays, brand new touch-down and social spaces, as well as improvements to the Winter Gardens, external landscape and public realm.  There will also be the creation of a new community learning facility 'The Growing Space' that will complement the community garden adjacent to the Winter Gardens.

A packed activity programme is planned in the museum in the lead up to the closure period and throughout the redevelopment. Activity will take place in other cultural and community venues across the city once work is underway, allowing museum activity to continue whilst the museum itself is closed to the public for major improvements.

Welcoming the funding, Councillor Michael Mordey, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "This is such brilliant news for the city. I'm delighted we've been successful in our bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

"We last saw major investment in the museum in 2001, also supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This allowed us to press ahead with the addition of the Winter Gardens and new galleries and interactive displays.

"This new funding is so vital to ensuring that our much-loved museum remains at the very heart of family and community life at the same time as allowing us to improve our collections and make them much more accessible to residents and visitors alike. 

"This is such an exciting time for the city, with the development of Culture House and our successful bid for this major funding to support these museum improvements. Sunderland really is going from strength to strength."

Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: "Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens has been a firm favourite with generations of families across our city, as well as attracting visitors from further afield. So, we're absolutely thrilled to have been awarded this funding to invest in the redevelopment of the museum - thanks to National Lottery players.

"I'm also really excited about the programme we're planning to roll out to take museum activities out to venues across the city, which will allow museum activity to continue even when the building itself is closed for major improvements.

"Plans include everything from pop up 'museum on the road' sessions and people's memories of Sunderland being collected through a new oral histories project, to work experience and apprenticeship placements, more opportunities for budding young museum curators and work with young people from schools across the city.

"For years the museum has played a vital role in bringing great culture to Sunderland. We welcomed world-renowned artist Grayson Perry to showcase his tapestries back in 2013. And to mark the 500^th anniversary of the death of Leonardo DaVinci in 2019, we displayed some of his life's works. Both of these drew in large audiences.  This new funding will help completely transform the museum's ground floor and safeguard the building and museum collection for future generations."

Ivor Crowther, Head of Investment, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "We're delighted to be awarding £5m to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. The museum's redevelopment and the exciting accompanying programme of activities will allow visitors from far and wide to discover the fascinating collection it is home to and explore the rich heritage of the city.

"We know that heritage can play a huge role in bringing people together and creating a sense of pride in local communities, and in turn boosting the local economy, and the regeneration of this much-loved museum is sure to be a perfect example of that."

Nick Malyan, Chief Executive of Sunderland Culture, the organisation which delivers the creative programme in the museum said: "The museum is so important to the city as well as being a nationally significant civic museum. This support will renew the offer at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and ensure the venue continues to be at the heart of the city's life. We look forward to working with Sunderland City Council colleagues to welcome new generations of Sunderland residents and visitors to the city, to make new memories and celebrate our wonderful city."