Boost for the home of Concorde as Aerospace Bristol achieves Arts Council

ollowing an extremely challenging period that has seen the museum and charity seek urgent support to continue operating through the Covid-19 pandemic – including successful applications to all three rounds of the Culture Recovery Fund, receiving a total of £1.1 million - Aerospace Bristol has received another major boost in the form of Arts Council accreditation: the UK industry standard for museums and galleries.

Accredited status means that Aerospace Bristol is operated to professional industry standards and shows that the museum takes proper care of its collection – including the last Concorde ever to fly and the many other important objects and archive records – in order to make them accessible and safeguard our aerospace heritage for the future.

Lloyd Burnell, Executive Director, Aerospace Bristol said: “Achieving Arts Council accredited status is an important step forward for Aerospace Bristol. As the national benchmark of a well-run museum, this award is testament to the professionalism and high standards that our staff and volunteers work hard to maintain. Accreditation demonstrates that our collection is in safe hands, opens up exciting funding and partnership opportunities, and will give confidence to donors and supporters who wish to join us in preserving our aerospace heritage and inspiring future generations.”

Stefanie Vincent, Collections Manager, Aerospace Bristol added: “Aerospace Bristol has always been committed to managing and caring for our collection to the highest possible professional standards and ensuring that as many people as possible can access and engage with the objects, stories and records in our collection. It’s fantastic to see this hard work being recognised with Arts Council accredited status and we’re excited about what the future holds for Aerospace Bristol as an accredited museum.”

David Gelsthorpe, interim Chair of the UK Accreditation Committee, said: “I’m delighted that Aerospace Bristol has achieved the UK Accreditation Standard for museums and galleries. Accreditation is a fantastic achievement which provides an important framework to support ongoing development and future planning, especially during these challenging times. I am extremely pleased to welcome Aerospace Bristol to the scheme, which will help to increase access to the collection and protect it for generations to come.”

Aerospace Bristol is currently open Tuesday to Sunday during term time and 7 days per week during school holidays, with more information and tickets available at aerospacebristol.org.