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What are some of the key areas you fund?
Founded in 1970 by Paul Mellon, who believed in the centrality of the arts and humanities to democratic society, we support scholarship, academic research and the dissemination of knowledge in the fields of British art and architectural history, the research projects we support cover a spectrum of geographical and cultural contexts.
We award £1 million a year over a variety of grants: for organisations, we support exhibition and curatorial projects, conservation, digital endeavours and events; and for individuals, we support author costs and research trips. We also have a set of fellowships designed to allow individuals time away from employment to undertake dedicated research towards their own projects.
What’s something innovative that you’re currently working on?
We are looking to update our website and as such really want to forefront the stories and research that has been made possible due to our funding. Currently, our awardees are just listed on our website so we are looking for more innovative and interesting ways to breathe life into our supported projects, focusing on the individuals and communities which have benefited from the engagement with their cultural history.
What’s one piece of learning that you’d like to share with other London Funders’ members?
We have recently learnt the importance of having a dedicated system to administer our grants programme. We struggled for a long time trying to use a system that wasn’t dedicated to grant giving and trying to adapt it around our processes. We changed systems recently and have set it up to be tailored to how we work, this has greatly streamlined and improved the process for applicants, assessors and administration.
What do you value most about being a part of London Funders?
We really value the opportunity to connect with other funders, to learn from their processes and how they best accommodate the needs of their applicants. We are constantly looking at ways we can improve what we do and look forward to learning from others.
Looking ahead, share one thing that is on your radar. What should we prioritise as a network of funders?
We at the Paul Mellon Centre are looking at pathways, how we can work across our departments to ensure the benefits of art, visual and cultural history are not lost through the cuts to art funding and museums, and how we can engage young people with the arts from an early age. We hope to make steps to connect with others to see how we can support the pathways of learning and interests in British art history.
What’s an issue or area you’d like to discuss with other members?
We have just started submitting our data to 360Giving and are looking to use our grant giving data to help shape our future strategies, we would be very interested in discussing with other members about how they use their data to help inform future funding opportunities and decision making.
Connect with the Paul Mellon Centre about:
Funding individuals’ research, funding cultural organisations, the arts and cultural sector, funding digital projects, grant assessment, grant giving processes.
The Member Spotlight is taken from our monthly member-exclusive newsletter, the Member Memo. The newsletter contains targeted information about upcoming events and updates from across the membership, with opportunities to connect and collaborate with other members. If you are a London Funders' member and would like to sign up, please email ora.ataguba@londonfunders.org.uk.