Summary
The William Syson Foundation is looking for co-funding to expand an inspiring programme enabling schoolchildren to visit art galleries. This highly successful initiative is free to schools and works with three large art galleries in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but now seeks to grow nationally.
Aims and activities
Aims and questions
Aims and activities
A highly successful, completely free to schools visitation initiative working with three large art galleries in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, seeks to attract co-ordinated funding from like-minded trusts and foundations to expand national reach and provide benefits to thousands more school pupils, teachers, art gallery staff and freelance art educators.
We are seeking a couple of partners able to grant between £10,000 to £20,000 per annum over three years, which will enable schools in areas such as Perth, Scottish Borders and Lanarkshire, to visit their local art galleries.
With a 2 year track record and funding secured to the end of the 2025/6 academic year, the time is opportune to encourage further financial support from the charitable sector to support this arts programme. With success evident (an Impact Report has been produced to share with interested partners), collaboration is now sought with charitable organisations advocating the shared aim of inspiring schoolchildren through in-person curriculum relevant workshops and tours of art galleries within Scotland. Providing multi-year funding gives long-term surety of support to art galleries in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and will allow for smaller galleries serving school pupils in rural areas to become part of the initiative.
For £22 a head, the benefits have been outstanding by any metric:
- 5,400 Scottish schoolchildren have benefitted from a gallery tour and high-quality, curriculum specific, art workshop
- A pool of freelance artists and art educators have secured employment
- Gallery staff have been financially supported to remove the administrative burden from schools of booking transport and organising cover
- Galleries have welcomed a new generation of eager students
- Teachers have felt supported and inspired by the gallery visitations
Check our Impact Report 2026 for details and participant feedback.
80% of our children had never been to an art gallery...it’s vital that the arts are funded to allow children to have these learning experiences.
How to get involved
Does your organisation want to support the art gallery sector, freelance artists/art educators, schools, teachers and pupils across Scotland, comprising thousands of beneficiaries and a lasting boost to the arts?
This can be possible by co-ordinated funding alongside The William Syson Foundation, and using shared documentation and monitoring procedures so that there is little admininistration required on your part.
We are seeking a couple of partners able to grant between £10,000 to £20,000 per annum over three years, which will enable schools in areas such as Perth, Scottish Borders and Lanarkshire, to visit their local art galleries.
Please view our Collaborative Charter to see how a significant impact can be made by your organisation without the resource implications or risk of starting from scratch, instead the research has been completed, the initiative devised and implemented with light touch reporting and a successful track record established.
Please contact Grant Manager, Brynley Davies on brynley@williamsysonfoundation.org.uk to ask any questions and view all documentation.
Who's involved
Who was involved
The William Syson Foundation
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum
National Galleries of Scotland
Learning and Resources
Art Galleries Travel Fund Impact Report
Opportunities for partner representatives to attend a tour and workshop will form part of the monitoring approach that has already been established. The William Syson Foundation will share with you our standard documentation which includes a two-page set of terms and conditions, a one-page award letter with reporting requirements detailed, and a confirmation note returned by the grantee upon receipt of funds to their bank account. All monitoring/reporting documentation from the grantee will be shared with all partners.
