The National Football Museum has received a grant of £199,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Collecting Cultures scheme in order to expand its collection of artworks inspired by or depicting the beautiful game.

The museum, based in Manchester, will work alongside the University of Bristol History of Art Department to identify key acquisitions, train staff and develop the organisation’s already fascinating art collection.

National Football Museum will build relationships with other arts organisations and use the opportunity provided by the funding to bring new audiences to a rich variety of art inspired by football.

Money from the HLF will also allow the museum to expand the public programme and learning opportunities created via its Arts Council England funded art, technology and learning programme Out Of Play.

The project will enhance public access to and understanding of art inspired by football, from poster art and advertising inspired by Pop Art and mass media in the 1960s & 70s, to the little-researched subject of Public Realm artwork in football and the range of opportunities created for artists by the rise of video. A new exhibition will be planned, featuring highlights from the museum’s art collection.

David Pearson, Deputy Director of the National Football Museum, said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to develop our art collection. Football-related art is such a rich and expanding subject, from poster art, to sculptures, to video and new media. This project will also enable us to expand our ambitious programme to engage increasingly diverse audiences through art and football.

“We are very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their support.”

Dr Mike O’Mahony, of the Department of History of Art, University of Bristol added: “The University of Bristol is very much looking forward to working with the National Football Museum to explore the fascinating subject of football inspired art and to assist the museum to select and acquire some key works that can inspire and engage their many thousands of visitors.”

Explaining the importance of the HLF support, Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said:

“Our first Collecting Cultures tranche of grants made a real difference to how organisations approached and planned their long-term collecting strategies.  Now, five years on we’re pleased to be able help a much wider range of applicants – including the National Football Museum - with an increased budget to encourage better managed collections, curatorial skills, research and increased public involvement.”

The Rt Hon Ed Vaizey, Culture Minister, said

I’m delighted to see that this fantastic and successful initiative is back. Collecting Cultures is a wonderful opportunity for organisations to further enrich their collections and it’s great to see plans for really fascinating additions to museums, libraries and archives across the country.

The Minister went on to say "We have a vast array of rich and diverse cultural institutions in the UK and its funds like this one that will ensure they have the support to grow from strength to strength.”

www.nationalfootballmuseum.com