The team at Focus Consultants is celebrating the news that St Fagans National Museum of History in Wales has won the world’s largest and most prestigious museum prize.
Focus project managed an eight-year redevelopment scheme at St Fagans, which was completed last year. The Nottingham-based firm provided a range of services including bid work for a Heritage Lottery Fund application, business planning, quantity surveying and project management.
Now St Fagans National Museum of History has been awarded the title of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019 – winning a £100,000 prize.
Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director and chair of the judges, said it was “a truly democratic museum” that “lives and breathes the culture, history and identity of Wales”.
Partner at Focus Consultants, Steven Fletcher, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to hear that St Fagans National Museum of History has won such a prestigious title, and really proud to have played a role in the redevelopment of such a fantastic museum. Congratulations to the museum on winning such a valuable prize, and also to everyone in the team who made it happen.
“Since the redevelopment was completed last year, the museum has won a number of significant accolades, but this is the world’s most valuable and prestigious museum prize, and we couldn’t be happier for our clients.”
Focus, which also has branches in London, Leicester, Newark and Boston, first began working with the Welsh museum in 2010 when Focus was appointed for the preparation of a Heritage Lottery Fund bid. The bid was successful – securing £11.5m in HLF grant funding for the museum on the outskirts of Cardiff. At the time, in 2012, it was the largest HLF grant ever awarded in Wales.
Focus was subsequently retained to provide business planning, quantity surveying and project management services for the £30m redevelopment at the site, which is Wales’ largest and most popular heritage attraction.
Another of Focus’ clients, the V&A Dundee, received a £10,000 prize after being named on the shortlist of the Art Fund Museum of the Year. Focus has been undertaking project management and quantity surveying roles at the museum.
Focus Consultants has worked on developments with many of the major national and regional museums in the UK, including the National Science Museum, the V&A Museum, the National Army Museum, Brooklands Museum and a host of others.
The company offers a range of services to the museum, arts and heritage sector, including funding advice and support, business planning and project management.
For more information about Focus Consultants, visit www.focus-consultants.com
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