Dulwich Picture Gallery receives £1.3m from Culture Recovery Fund
A statement from our Director Jennifer Scott
I am enormously grateful and relieved to announce that we have been successful in our application to the Culture Recovery Fund for £1.3m. Thank you to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England for this essential lifeline.
For more than 200 years Dulwich Picture Gallery has been a welcoming hub in South London, with our distinctive architecture, world-class paintings, and peaceful green spaces. As an independent charity with no regular public funding, we rely on income from admissions, fundraising, investments, shop and café to survive. The financial impact of Covid-19 on the Gallery has been devastating. This grant enables us to get back on our feet to serve our audiences through our vibrant and inclusive programme, to protect the future of our team, to ensure the safety of all our staff and visitors, and to care for the world's first public art gallery.
We are determined that our work continues, generating healthier and happier communities by connecting people’s lives with creativity, expressed through our vision ‘Find Yourself in Art'. Our exhibition Unearthed: Photography's Roots captures the uplifting and much-needed spirit of fresh beginnings, with beautiful photographs of plants, flowers and nature to greet our visitors alongside a new presentation of our Collection when we re-open next month.
Thank you to all our supporters for your unerring belief in the Gallery and for being a vital part of our story. When we closed our doors on 17 March, I took solace in my favourite painting, Girl at a Window by Rembrandt. I said then that she has seen many things in her 375 years and the light in her eyes sees us through difficult times. The events of the past eight months are added to that list. She - and I - can't wait to welcome you back from 21 November when you will find us re-energised and ready for the challenges that undoubtedly still lie ahead.
Jennifer Scott
The Sackler Director
24 October 2020
Rembrandt van Rijn, Girl at a Window (1645), oil on cavas, from Dulwich Picture Gallery's Collection