The announcement was made by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy during a visit to the launch of ‘Two Rooms’ a new interim space for the Jewish Museum London, while it searches for its permanent home. The space is located at JW3 in North London. The visit marked the opening of two new exhibitions celebrating the richness of the museum’s collections and the long history of Jewish families in Britain.
The Jewish Museum London closed its Camden site in 2023 and has since continued its work as a “museum without walls”, delivering exhibitions, learning programmes and community engagement activities across the capital. The funding will support the museum’s ongoing audience development and outreach work, while also helping it develop its plans for a new permanent home in the future.
The news comes as the UK’s first Jewish Cultural Month comes to a close. It also follows the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a comprehensive package of measures to tackle antisemitism. As part of this work, Arts Council England is engaging proactively with Jewish colleagues, creatives and the wider sector, to inform the actions they will take to challenge antisemitism and anti-Jewish racism. The government is also working with the Arts Council on an independent audit to ensure their processes are robust and effective in addressing complaints about antisemitism.
Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy said
Jewish culture, history and heritage are woven into the fabric of this country, and of our national story. The Jewish Museum London and the Manchester Jewish Museum do extraordinary work keeping these stories alive and opening them up to everyone, and they deserve our full support.
Today’s investment is about bringing communities together, helping us to understand one another and sending a clear message that in the face of hatred and division, we will always choose unity.
Nick Viner, Chair of Trustees of Jewish Museum London said
I would like to thank the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy. The DCMS support will be invaluable in helping us over the next period as we become more outward facing, expanding our education outreach and increasing our collection loans across the country. It will also help us in our search for a new permanent home, enabling us to create a welcoming space where we can share our stories with the public and create new dialogues. We are very grateful for this strong expression of confidence in our future plans.
We value the fact that Government realises the importance of the Jewish Museum’s programme at this time of mounting antisemitism and shares our belief that the British Jewish community is an integral part of the story of immigration and cultural identity in Britain, not a world apart.
The Jewish Museum London plays a critical role in preserving and sharing Jewish history, heritage and culture with people from all backgrounds. Home to a nationally significant collection, it cares for objects and stories that help deepen understanding of Jewish life in Britain over centuries. This investment will help protect that collection for future generations, while enabling more people across the UK to engage with and benefit from it.
The funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be distributed through Arts Council England.
In addition, the government intends to provide Manchester Jewish Museum with a £100,000 investment to support the museum’s vital community work. This funding aims to ease the burden of increased security costs, helping to protect the vibrant events, exhibitions and community activities that make it such a vital part of the city’s cultural life.
The investment will also fund a new schools outreach pilot that brings children from different backgrounds together to explore Jewish heritage, history and culture. DCMS is developing this as a cultural extension to the Department for Education’s Protecting What Matters commitment to fund community-led school linking projects. The aim is to create safe, welcoming spaces where young people can meet, learn together and build connections that last.
Beyond this immediate support, the Government is working with communities and stakeholders to ensure that our Jewish cultural institutions have the long-term support they need to remain secure and sustainable. Jewish cultural institutions play an irreplaceable role in our shared national story, and we want to make sure they can continue to thrive by keeping them open, accessible and enriching for everyone.
