On Display!

This grant is supported using public funding from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), through Arts Council England and is being administered by MDL.

This is a national programme of public funding distributed by Museum Development providers across the country, enabling more museums to benefit from funding and implement best practice.

Eligible London museums can improve display cases, purchase collection care materials to improve display conditions, purchase security measures such as alarms and CCTV, and improve overall exhibit presentation.

The main aims for the grants are to:

• enable museums to improve their security to keep their own collections and loan objects safer
• support museums to improve the care of objects on display, by providing better conditions for objects on display
• encourage museums to borrow objects from nationals or larger regional museums now, or in future

MDL has £10,000 (five grants of up to £2,000 available) to allocate to London’s non-national, non-NPO museums in 2025–2026, to improve security and display conditions of their collections and loans.

Applications are now open for 2025–2026

Closing date for applications is Monday 17 November 2025 at 12pm. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

The funding could support a range of projects which enable museums to improve the display and security conditions of their collections on display. This could include for example, having a security audit of the museum, making improvements to security or improving the display of objects with specialist mounts, as well as new display cases (satisfying conditions of the Government Indemnity Scheme).

Projects will need to be completed by Sunday 15 March 2026. More information on eligibility as well as the type of projects the grants programme will support can be found in the guidance for applicants below.

If you would like to apply, please complete and return an application form along with any supporting documents to [email protected] no later than 12pm on Monday 17 November 2025.

If you are unsure whether your project would be eligible, have questions about the grant criteria or would like to discuss your project in more detail, please do get in touch with Museum Development London.

We will announce our grant museums for 2025–2026 in December once the Assessment Panel has met and the applicants have been notified of the outcome of their application.