The Silk Museum in Macclesfield is set to benefit from a share of £24.2 million through Arts Council England's Capital Investment Programme.

The Silk Museum will receive £165,000 from Arts Council England towards a large £225,000 capital programme running through to 2025.

The award will help to transform the Silk Museum building's accessibility. The investment will be used to make the building more sustainable and lessen its overall environmental impact.

It will enable the creation of a Jacquard Studio, improve the storage facilities and access to the remarkable collection of Pattern Books.

Congratulations to The Silk Museum on this financial boost. (Image - The Silk Museum)

It will also improve creative opportunities for artists by supporting co-curated displays inspired by the museum's collections. And it will allow more of the work that the museum delivers with community groups with special needs, visual impairment, and low cultural engagement.

The Silk Museum is the largest dedicated museum about the development of silk in the north of England and has one of the largest collections of pattern books relating to the textiles produced in Macclesfield.

It is also home to the unique Grade-II listed Paradise Mill, which has recently undergone a programme of restoration and is now open to visitors who can see working Jacquard silk handlooms. 

The Silk Museum welcomes visitors from all over the world, but also work locally with Cheshire East Eye Society and Pinc College on creative programmes that enrich their cultural life. 

This funding will enable us to continue providing high quality creative and cultural experiences for people in Macclesfield. 

The Capital Investment Programme supports the Arts Council's mission to ensure communities across the country have the infrastructure where creativity for everyone can thrive. 

Emma Anderson, Director of Silk Museum, says: "We are absolutely delighted to have been successful in securing this award. This will help unlock our remarkable Pattern Book collections, so that more people can engage in more ways with this archive of patterns and designs. It will expand our work with artists and communities to create displays inspired by our incredible collections and enhancing the visitor experience."

Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: "This infrastructure investment will help a whole range of different cultural organisations across England to flourish, increasing opportunities for people to enjoy creatively excellent cultural events close to where they live. It's particularly important that we're making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low."

(Image - CC 3.0 Unchanged Roger Harris https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Official_portrait_of_Lord_Parkinson_of_Whitley_Bay_crop_2.jpg Unchanged)

Lord Parkinson, Arts minister at Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: "Cultural venues enrich our lives, and it's vital that their infrastructure matches the excellence of the creative work that goes on inside them. 

 "Our funding is helping both to create new venues and to adapt existing ones to make them more accessible, helping to deliver the Government's plan to make sure that everyone, no matter where they live or what their background, has access to excellent, life-changing cultural opportunities."

Arts Council England's Manchester office.