About the Purchase Grant Fund
The Fund is provided by Arts Council England Lottery funding and is managed by the V&A as part of its national work. The grants budget for 2025/26 is £725,000.
Demand is always very strong and funds are allocated to enable as many acquisitions as possible to be made. Each year the Fund considers around 100 applications and enables acquisitions of around £3 million to go ahead.
The Fund, run by the V&A since 1881, retains an interest in the organisations and objects it supports and collections they join, and ensures that the terms of the grant offer continue to be met.
Recent acquisitions
One of the most significant ornithologists of his time, H.E. Dresser’s (1838 – 1915) books combined new scientific information with masterful bird illustration. Widely considered his most important work, the ambitious A History of the Birds of Europe was produced in 84 parts and sold by subscription. Dresser also produced a set specially printed for himself, with original hand-coloured plates and manuscript annotations.
In June 2024, a temporary export bar was placed on this personal author’s copy, having met the Waverley criteria as a national treasure. With the support of the Purchase Grant Fund, the Art Fund and Friends of the Nations’ Libraries, The University of Manchester were able to secure this unique set of 17 volumes.
“This was Manchester Museum’s largest new acquisition in recent memory, and the Museum’s first experience with the temporary export bar process. The ACE/V&A Purchase Grant Fund not only provided generous support, but also fully recognised the urgency of the timescales to which we had to work. The speed and flexibility with which the Fund responded was hugely appreciated, and played a pivotal role in enabling us to save these stunning volumes for the nation. We are exceptionally grateful for everything that the Fund has done to make this possible.”
In 2025, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery were able to acquire The Neon Hieroglyph by Tai Shani with a 50% grant from the Purchase Grant Fund, alongside support from the Contemporary Art Society and Friends of Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives. The Neon Hieroglyph is Shani’s first moving image work to enter a British public collection.
Turner Prize-winner in 2019, Tai Shani’s practice blurs the boundaries of mediums, aesthetics and philosophy in meditations on radical feminist, non-binary utopias. The Neon Hieroglyph takes place on Alicudi near Sicily in the 1950s, where islanders were said to have collectively hallucinated a coven of witches. Combining CGI animation with live action film, Shani layers horror tropes with tales of witchcraft and transgression, female empowerment and marginalisation.
“The Neon Hieroglyph engages with speculative models of what a feminist art for the 21st century could be. As Bristol Museum & Art Gallery seeks to decentre its programme and its collections, a comparison can be found with art practices such as Shani’s, which shift the focus away from the individualised genius of modernism towards collaboration and open acts of creativity. The Neon Hieroglyph extends the debate with audiences to a wider arena.”
How to apply for a Purchase Grant
Who can apply?
Museums, galleries, record repositories and specialist libraries in England and Wales that are not funded by central government and maintain a permanent collection in suitable conditions for public benefit can apply for a Purchase Grant.
As a minimum requirement, museums and galleries should be accredited under the Arts Council England scheme and record repositories be accredited under the Archive Service Accreditation Scheme, or have formal "working towards" status. Organisations not eligible for accreditation, e.g. libraries, will be asked to provide supporting information that demonstrates how good collection care standards are met.
What is supported?
Objects, collections or archives of any date relating to the arts, literature or history are supported. This includes archaeological and ethnographical material, objects illustrating social and popular culture, decorative and fine art, rare books, documents and letters with good historical content, maps, writers' manuscripts and archival photographs.
The Fund is unable to consider items to be commissioned from artists and makers, or scientific or technological material.
Funding allocation
- The budget for 2025/26 is £725,000
- The minimum purchase price is £500 and the maximum £500,000
- The maximum grant is 50% of the purchase price
- No applicant is likely to receive more than £50,000 in any one financial year
- There is no limit to the number of applications which may be submitted
- Local financial commitment is essential. Up to £10 of grant aid may be given for each £1 of locally raised funding. The balance may be sought from other grant giving bodies which operate nationally.
The application process
In the first instance please contact the Purchase Grant Fund office with a brief description of your proposed purchase.
If the item is to be sold at auction, it is essential that you contact us as soon as possible, with a link to the auction page (if available).
Please check if any other relevant organisations have declared interest in the object and be aware you will need to supply a condition report and ideally an independent valuation with your application.
Contact for all enquiries and requests for forms:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 2536
Email: purchasegrantfund@vam.ac.uk
We will send you a link to the online application portal after the initial discussion.
You may submit an application at any time and decisions are normally given within 4 weeks of receiving all necessary information. Larger purchases are considered within 2 months.
Resources are limited and not all deserving cases will be successful. You must therefore argue the significance of the proposed purchase in the context of your permanent collections as strongly as possible. We want museums to be able to provide a more accurate, balanced and inclusive interpretation of their collections, therefore becoming more relevant and sustainable as a result. We will therefore look to support acquisitions which enable you to better reflect and respond to audiences through your collections.
“Receiving an impactful grant from the Purchase Grant Fund is vital to a public gallery like The Hepworth Wakefield, as we don’t have the budget to acquire works for our collection. A grant like this enables us to grow our collection to include important and exciting international artists working today who represent our growing and diverse audiences. For this support we are continuously grateful and appreciative.”