The Clore Duffield Foundation pledges £200,000

Scotland’s biggest cultural heritage project has received a funding boost that will be used to help tackle the poverty-related education gap – and create joy.

The Clore Duffield Foundation has committed £200,000 towards the creation of a dedicated learning space for children and young people in Paisley Museum, which is undergoing a £45 million refurbishment.

Staff from OneRen, the local cultural charity behind the project, have been partnering with teachers and learning providers from across Renfrewshire to co-produce new learning experiences for local young people.

Kirsty Devine, Project Director at Paisley Museum Re-Imagined, said staff were “thrilled” to have the support of Clore Duffield.

Ms Devine added: “This will further enhance our learning programme, inspiring a new generation through creativity and culture at the heart of our new museum space.

“The Clore Learning Room will be a place of joy and education, where we work to reduce the poverty-related attainment gap and challenge levels of child poverty through the huge potential that our cultural programme can offer.

“We’re already creating genuine, long-lasting relationships with learners, teachers and stakeholders, working with them to design a learning programme that will make a significant difference to our young people – and the endorsement from Clore Duffield is hugely appreciated.”

The renovation of Paisley Museum is part of a wider investment in the Renfrewshire town that the local authority claims will “change its future” with internationally significant cultural and heritage venues.

This is only the second time in its history that the Foundation has chosen to support a Clore Learning Space in Scotland, the other being the National Galleries of Scotland.

Kate Bellamy, Director of the Clore Duffield Foundation, said: “We’re very pleased to support Paisley Museum and OneRen in their work to inspire children and young people through an engaging programme of cultural learning opportunities.

“The Clore Learning Room will be a place of excitement and opportunity, breaking down barriers to education and engagement at the heart of one of the UK’s most exciting new museum projects. “We look forward to seeing the results.”

The Foundation was established by Sir Charles Clore in 1964 and is now chaired by his daughter, Dame Vivien Duffield.

A flagship programme is the creation of Clore Learning Spaces in cultural institutions across the UK to ensure children and young people have the chance to benefit from art, culture and heritage.

The museum refurbishment is funded by Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish Government, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland and supported by a fundraising campaign led by a charitable trust, Paisley Museum Reimagined Ltd.

James Lang, chair of Paisley Museum Reimagined Ltd and director of Renfrewshire-based Scottish Leather Group thanked Clore Duffield.

He said: “Their support will help ensure the reopened museum will be a valuable educational facility at the heart of the town, will inspire and enrich the lives of young people for generations to come.”

The council has said the ambition behind the museum project is to create a new, world-class museum space, shaped and focussed by, and for, the people of the town, celebrating its history and impact on the world.