The Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum is one of 20 organisations across the UK selected to take part in Going Places — a landmark £5.36 million exhibition programme led by Art Fund, the national charity for museums and galleries.
As part of Going Places, six museum networks spanning Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales have been formed around a number of themes. These networks will collaborate to share collections and work with local communities to develop and present two touring exhibitions in what promises to be the largest and most ambitious touring project of its kind over the next five years.
As part of the project the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum is working with CofGâr – Carmarthenshire Museums & Arts Service and High Life Highland – Highland Folk Museum and Inverness Museum & Art Gallery; as part of a network called Communities of Making exploring how local heritage and traditions of making have evolved in their respective regions.
The project is being supported with £2.86 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and £1.5 million from the Julia Rausing Trust.
Jonathan Craig, Chair of the Communities & Wellbeing Committee said:
“Going Places is a fantastic initiative. The aim is to create two exciting touring exhibitions over a five-year period, and by doing so, the museum and its visitors will explore heritage craft traditions from across the regions – Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Underpinning the programme is a desire to make our traditional heritage crafts exciting and relevant for a new audience. Local 16-24-year-olds will have an incredible opportunity to get involved in the exhibition and design process, becoming the curators of the future.”
There are less than a handful of linen damask weavers in the UK and Ireland and two of these are resident weavers in the Lisburn Museum. Through this project we hope to reinvigorate an interest in the time-honoured art of linen damask weaving, and ensure the craft is preserved and lives on for future generations to enjoy.”
Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said: “Going Places is a celebration of UK collections and the people who bring them to life. By pooling resources, sharing expertise and working together, museums are championing a sustainable and collaborative approach to touring exhibitions - while making their collections accessible and exciting for communities across the country. As we continue our fundraising towards this programme to make the biggest impact for museums, we are immensely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Julia Rausing Trust for their very generous support for this programme, which will pave the way for a more open and resourceful future for exhibition making.”
Going Places responds directly to museums’ needs for more sustainable and collaborative ways of exhibiting, supporting them to share their collections with one another. Art Fund’s 2024 Museum Directors survey found that 63% of museums are looking to work in partnership with other museums on exhibition making.
The programme builds on recommendations from the 2022 research report Going places: Touring and shared exhibitions in the UK, commissioned by Art Fund and Creative Scotland, which identified shared touring models as key to increasing access to high-quality, accessible exhibitions, and building the long-term sustainability of museums across the UK.
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we believe in the power of museums to inspire, offer joy, build pride in places and, of course, to provide a great day out. Going Places is a brilliant programme bringing together small and medium sized museums and galleries, enabling them to share diverse and much-loved collections in a unique and dynamic way, involving people right across the UK. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Art Fund on this innovative project.
“Since 1994 we have awarded £2.4bn to 5,900 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players our funding contribution supports innovative and sustainable approaches to making exhibitions accessible, enabling communities to care for their precious heritage and share it more widely.”
Simon Fourmy, Director of the Julia Rausing Trust, said: “We are delighted to support Art Fund in launching the Going Places programme. This represents an innovative collaborative approach in the creation of touring exhibitions, and one that puts local communities at its heart. It provides meaningful cultural engagement that will broaden audiences and increase access to collections. Supporting cultural institutions was an important part of Julia Rausing’s giving and this programme will allow our funds to reach museums and communities across the UK.”
Going Places, an Art Fund programme made possible with generous support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Julia Rausing Trust.
The full list of Going Places networks:
• Communities of Making (CofGâr – Carmarthenshire Museums & Arts Service; High Life Highland – Highland Folk Museum and Inverness Museum & Art Gallery; the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum) will explore the evolution of local heritage and traditions of making – such as Irish linen, Scottish wool and Welsh basketry – through objects from their collections including textiles, heritage machinery and paintings. Their first exhibition will open at Inverness Museum & Art Gallery in April 2027.
• Green Spaces Shared Places (Arlington Court and the National Trust Carriage Museum; Dales Countryside Museum; Sunderland Culture; The National Memorial Arboretum) will place young communities’ voices at the heart of conversations, exploring the positive impact that the great outdoors can have on our health and the ways in which these interactions can be enriched by our social, industrial and agricultural heritage. Their first exhibition will open at The National Memorial Arboretum in May 2026.
• Long Distance Connections (Museums Worcestershire; OnFife; Penlee House Gallery & Museum) will begin by exploring the stories of women artists represented across each of their collections, with works from all three museums brought together in dialogue to create new narratives. The first exhibition will open at Penlee House Gallery & Museum in May 2026.
• New Faces New Focus (Aberdeenshire Council; Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; Open Eye Gallery) will use socially engaged practice to connect newly formed and isolated communities with their heritage collections. Exploring the theme of journeys – from migration and exile to the milestones, traditions and celebrations of journeys through life. Their first exhibition will open at Open Eye Gallery in September 2026.
• Founding the Future (The Bowes Museum; Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum; Watts Gallery) will uncover new stories and narratives, exploring how their museums, all founded by couples with a passion for art, culture and collecting have relevance to their communities today. Their first exhibition will open at Watts Gallery in October 2026.
• Four Lanterns (Blackwell – The Arts & Crafts house; Dovecot Studios; Tŷ Pawb; William Morris Gallery) will take the Arts and Crafts movement as a starting point to consider the politics, social values, and new possibilities emerging around contemporary forms of manufacturing, connecting crafts, contemporary makers and communities. Their first exhibition will open at William Morris Gallery in October 2026.
About Art Fund
Art Fund is the national charity for museums and galleries. For over 120 years, it has helped institutions across the UK to develop and share their collections, invest in people and expertise, grow their audiences and inspire the next generation.
Art Fund connects museums and people with great art and culture through funding, advocacy and initiatives, because access to art is vital for a healthy society. It champions the sector through the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year Award - the world’s largest museum prize - and supports museum professionals through dedicated training and grant programmes.
Independent and people-powered, Art Fund is supported by 142,000 members who buy a National Art Pass, as well as generous contributions from individuals, trusts and foundations. The National Art Pass offers free or discounted entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places in the UK, 50% off major exhibitions, a subscription to Art Quarterly magazine and Art In Your Inbox newsletter.
www.artfund.org
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
About the Julia Rausing Trust
Julia Rausing Trust has been established in memory of the late British philanthropist Julia Rausing, (née Delves-Broughton), who died in 2024.
Julia Rausing Trust will see £100million donated to charities and organisations in its first year and annually thereafter, making it one of the largest charitable funds in the UK.
Julia Rausing co-founded The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust in 2014. She was widely known for her unwavering commitment to philanthropy and her impactful contributions to a wide range of UK charitable causes. She was instrumental in building the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust into one of the largest philanthropic funds in the country, donating £400 million to causes across Health, Welfare, and the Arts, primarily within the UK.
www.juliarausingtrust.org