Seventeen museums, archives and libraries projects across Wales are to continue their work through the end of March 2027 after the Welsh Government awarded more than £550,000 in additional support. The funding extends activity already under way, with projects spanning youth engagement, literacy, archive access, digital collections and local heritage interpretation.
Projects tailored to local communities
The programme’s breadth is visible in the different ways the projects connect residents with culture. In Blaenau Gwent, support will extend a youth library co-ordinator role and expand engagement with young people who are under-represented in library services. In the Vale of Glamorgan, a reading-strategy pilot will test approaches to literacy support involving schools and families, alongside Welsh-language initiatives.
Several projects focus on making collections easier to find and use. Monmouthshire’s From Vault to View work will expand archive cataloguing, volunteering and public access. Rhondda Cynon Taf plans to improve digital access to museum and library collections through website development and new online content. Newport will build out a local-history digitisation and geocaching app, using digital material to bring local stories into community settings.
Those activities serve different audiences. A library youth role is based on personal engagement, while a digital collection can help people explore material remotely or encounter it through a local activity. The grant round brings both approaches under the same aim of widening participation, rather than prescribing one model for every area.
Heritage beyond the archive
The funded work also includes interpretation and creative engagement. On Anglesey, the Trysor project will use bilingual interpretation and outreach to introduce new audiences to archaeology and prehistory. Bridgend’s Ogwr Unlocked will extend cataloguing and heritage interpretation. In Swansea, natural-history collections will be used in new art-based workshops with the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.
In Neath Port Talbot, the pop-up museum programme is set to grow alongside a digital heritage platform and further community engagement. Torfaen, working on behalf of Gwent Archives and the Archives & Records Council Wales, will complete remaining engagement and digital-legacy activity through the Archifau Cymru Byw programme. These projects show how the funding reaches beyond buildings: collections can be brought to people through workshops, trails, online material and temporary displays.
North Wales is due to receive support for six projects. Alongside the Anglesey archaeology work, the regional package includes activity linked to Storiel and Culture Gwynedd, the Every Child a Library Member initiative and continued development of LMS Cymru. The South Wales list contains ten projects, including activity in Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Bridgend, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.
Continuation funding, with outcomes still to come
The extension gives participating organisations more time to develop work that has already begun. It does not mean that all 17 projects are new, nor does the announcement provide a single audience target or a measured impact figure for the package. Instead, the projects have distinct local plans, from supporting reading and young people to preserving records and presenting local history in new formats.
One example is Herstories in Merthyr Tydfil, which combines a website with an immersive museum installation focused on women’s portraits and stories. Its project manager has described the digital archive as a way to preserve and expand the record as further stories are uncovered. That illustrates a practical strand of the funding: connecting a physical visitor experience with an online resource that can continue to develop.
The grant programme sits within the Welsh Government’s commitment to widen access to culture. The additional funding means the 17 projects can continue until March 2027, but the announcement leaves the longer-term position after that date open. For communities, the immediate value will depend on how each organisation uses the extension to reach participants, improve access to collections and sustain local cultural activity.
