A Sudbury museum has been awarded a grant from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to fund a building apprentice as part of a multi-million pound refurbishment project.
Gainsborough’s House will receive £49,854 towards a building management apprenticeship scheme – which will fund one apprentice for three years.
Gainsborough’s House – the birthplace and childhood home of Thomas Gainsborough – has already secured £6.5million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and private donors for the renovation and construction of a national centre for the artist.
The project includes four new galleries – a Gainsborough gallery, a landscape studio and learning zone with panoramic views over Sudbury, a community gallery and a major exhibition gallery.
Celebrities and artists, including Griff Rhys Jones, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Lloyd Grossman, have rallied behind fundraising for the project with host of events, and around £1.2million still needs to be found by March next year.
Mark Bills, director of Gainsborough’s House, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with this award which brings us a step closed to achieving our transformational goal of a national centre for Sudbury.
“Andrew Lloyd Webber is a huge supporter of arts and heritage and his sponsorship of a building apprenticeship will help train and develop heritage skills for a new generation.”
The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation says recruitment for the apprenticeship role will be targeted at underrepresented groups, including young people from BAME backgrounds.
This follows on from last year’s Centre Stage report which urged the theatre profession to take action to improve the pipeline of diverse talent into the arts.
In total, grants worth more than £680,000 have been awarded by the foundation to 28 projects across the UK and internationally.
Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “I’m delighted my foundation is able to fund such a wide range of projects across the UK that help erode the barriers to careers in the arts and heritage for young people from all backgrounds.
“The Centre Stage report encouraged other funders and philanthropists to do the same. I urge everyone who can to get involved and support the development of diverse talent across our industry.”
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