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Arts Council England and The National Archives have signed a new collaboration agreement for 2024 to 2027. This agreement outlines how we will build on our previous work together to ensure a comprehensive cultural offer for the public, which includes the rich variety of arts, museums, libraries and archives. 

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We invest public money from the Government and the National Lottery, and provide a range of development programmes to support the arts and cultural sector.   

The National Archives holds similar leadership responsibilities for archives in England. It also provides advice, support and grants to help archives across the country to develop and enhance their services, facilities and collections.

Photo by © Shona Lowe
Darren Henley and Jeff James signing the agreement © Shona Lowe

The new agreement recognises that our two strategic visions – Let’s Create and Archives Unlocked – reflect many areas of shared interest. Archives, libraries and museums often share audiences, workforces, stakeholders and collections, and frequently operate interdependently. 

As partners, we will act strategically and practically to help communities across England engage with culture and ensure that our sectors’ collections and activities are accessible to everyone. We will develop programmes to make our workforces and collections more inclusive and reflective of the UK’s diversity. 

We will also explore ways to increase our sectors’ sustainability and digital capacity. We will work together to open up data and use this evidence to demonstrate the impact of cultural organisations, including on health and wellbeing. The agreement was signed by Jeff James from The National Archives and Darren Henley from

Darren Henley, Chief Executive at Arts Council England, said: “The Arts Council has many values in common with The National Archives and we have shared sector audiences particularly in museums and libraries which are fully embedded in our Let’s Create strategy. We have already produced joint initiatives such as the Standard Charge and will continue to explore how we can support the sector strategically and practically through the challenges it faces. I’m very pleased to sign a collaboration agreement for another three years and look forward to continuing to work towards our shared goals.” 

Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper at The National Archives, said: “We’re delighted to sign this new agreement, which reaffirms our two organisations’ commitment to working together successfully as partners. Through this agreement, we will be able to tackle shared challenges across our sectors and make the most of opportunities to advocate, share knowledge and secure funding for arts and culture.”