Retaining their position among the country’s top archives to receive support, the Design Archives will receive £63,000 in each of the next five academic years.
The award recognises that the Design Archives team, collections and facilities provide a unique and significant contribution to research, scholarship and research impact in the UK and internationally. Funds are only granted to institutions that serve both their own and the wider research community. The funding followed a competitive review of university museums and galleries, led by Dr Nick Merriman OBE, Chief Executive of English Heritage, and formerly, Chief Executive and Director of Content for the Horniman Museum and Gardens.
The Design Archives holds the most significant body of material relating to post-war design organisations in any British university. Amounting to over a kilometre of archives, the collection focuses on design in Britain and on global design organisations in the twentieth century. The small curatorial team initiates and promotes collaborations with researchers across the arts and humanities and beyond, and works closely with the Centre for Design History.