Derry City and Strabane District Council have launched a new support programme to help local heritage venues to continue to develop their offering as they recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic.
The Heritage Venue Animation Programme is being delivered with £100,000 of financial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It will provide expert knowledge and support to venues to improve their organisational resilience and allow them to work collaboratively to develop the overall visitor experience within the sector.
The project aims to build on the success of the Heritage Mentoring Programme that seven local heritage venues completed.
Tourism Manager at Council, Jennifer O’Donnell, urged local venues to apply now to access the support available.
“Our Council area boasts a network of heritage venues rich in history and culture however they are emerging from a challenging period where Covid restrictions have limited their capacity to attract visitors and host events and activities,” she said.
“While the return of international visitors is on the rise, the focus in the short to medium term will be on the all island domestic market and attracting people through inventive and dynamic programming.
“Through the Heritage Venue Programme we want to offer joined up support to our venues to develop the range and quality of the programmes and activities they offer which in turn will increase visitor numbers and spend across the Council area.”
Key areas of the programme are museum knowledge, collections care, customer service, marketing, fundraising, management and visitor experience.
The programme also aims to offer opportunities for local performers to contribute to the heritage and cultural product offering.
Dr Paul Mullan, Director, Northern Ireland at The National Lottery Heritage Fund added:
“We are delighted to support this project, which thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, will mean that heritage venues can access support to assist them in attracting new audiences, develop their future programming and collaborate with others in the area.
“The Derry City and Strabane District Council area is home to fascinating heritage and we know it is a great way of bringing people together and creating a sense of pride of place, that in turn can deliver wider economic benefits.”
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