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Six in ten museums in the UK were worried about their survival at the end of 2021 – a figure that is likely to significantly increase, according to the latest research from Art Fund.

Some are already on the brink, with Wirral Council announcing that the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum in Birkenhead is under threat of closure, and the Florence Nightingale Museum closing indefinitely post-lockdown - only opening its doors for ‘special, one off events’ funded by an Art Fund grant.

Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director, described the latest lockdown is a “body blow”. She said: “Smaller museums in particular, which are so vital to their communities, simply do not have the reserves to see them through this winter.”

The charity has made £2.25m available for emergency response funding and has received 451 applications from museums, galleries and historic houses - a fifth of all museums, galleries and historic houses in the UK.

Applications have totalled £16.9m, but it has only been able to fund only 15% of applicants. The money is aimed at supporting them to innovate in order to survive the pandemic – something 92% say they need to do.

Funding bids to the third and latest funding round were the highest so far. 192 organisations applied for just under £7m, but only £750,000 was available.

The new national lockdown is seeing museums ‘fighting for survival’, according to the Director of Art Fund – the national charity for art – with small institutions likely to suffer the most.

Leading artists have joined forces with Art Fund, donating their work for its Together for Museums campaign, which is aiming to raise an additional £1m. More than 1,300 members of the public have already come together to donate to the cause and with just over a month to go, and over £440k still to raise, public donations are now being match funded.