Five new trustees have been appointed to the board of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, the charity which runs the Royal Cornwall Museum, as the museum continues its comprehensive transformation.
Areas of expertise added to the board include risk management, commercial development, legal, capital development and finance, bringing in a range of fresh perspectives and valuable experience to support the museum through a vital stage in its development.
With establishing long-term financial stability a priority, the new board members include Justin Heugh, a Finance Director for the Diageo Group, and Kevin Brown, an Independent Member of the Bank of England RTGS/CHAPS Board and Risk Committee with a background in Financial Services.
To assist with enriching and diversifying the museum’s offer and reaching new audiences, Kira Orchard, a Widening Participation Coordinator with the University of Exeter, has joined the board.
Karen Bellamy, Director of Legal and Governance at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will provide valuable legal and fundraising expertise.
Finally, Steven Webb, former Mayor of Truro and current City Councillor, joins the board of the museum, which has ambitions to become one of Cornwall’s flagship attractions as well as bring new vibrancy and life to Truro city centre.
The museum’s Artistic Director, Bryony Robins, commented: “Our board has been instrumental in inspiring, enabling, and guiding us as we implement major organisational change. With the new members, the combined skills of the board give us the strongest possible foundation for success.”
The museum’s Executive Director, Jonathan Morton, added: “I’m delighted that these five new trustees are going to be sharing their expertise with us, helping steer us on the amazing journey we’ve embarked on.”
The new board members joined officially at the AGM on 25th November and were welcomed by Chair Julie Caplin-Grey, Deputy CEO of the Hall for Cornwall.
Julie commented: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be part of the museum as we move through a major transformational phase. The work we are doing now will ensure the museum’s standing as one of Cornwall’s top cultural institutions and visitor destinations, as well as having a strong commercial model that underpins and sustains it far into the future.”
Following on from the successful reopening of the museum’s Mineral Gallery, which was made possible thanks to funding of £476,000 from Truro’s Town Deal Board and Cornwall Council, the next phase of work includes the Heart of Cornwall Gallery, Nature Gallery, the creation of a new art gallery, landscaping, and major works to the roof.
This phase of the project has received £2.3m from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is being managed locally by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme.
The museum recently announced that it will be closed to the public during January and February 2025 while the most disruptive works are completed.
The museum will instead be ‘on the road’ during this time, taking items from the collection along with workshops and activities, to libraries, schools and community groups across Cornwall.
The museum will be re-opening in early March 2025.
