A NEW centre to house collections of Ceredigion Museum which could create a “number of jobs” forms part of ambitious plans for the Aberystwyth attraction as part of a new project.

Ceredigion Museum has been awarded £115,894 development funding by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Perthyn project - an exploration of how collections can create community in Ceredigion.

The ambitious project “aims to ensure that every Ceredigion resident can find something in the museum collection that resonates with their sense of identity and values, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, beliefs, sexuality, ability or other characteristics that they identify with”, museum owners Ceredigion County Council said.

The project will also investigate ways of giving people access to the whole collection - with only about 10 per cent currently on display.

A feasibility study in 2019 on the future development of the museum found that “every available” space in the building on Terrace Road was used for diplay and exhibitions, with some of the collections that were not on display housed in “inadequate” storage areas in the town.

The plans for the later stages of the project include “the possibility of a new Ceredigion Heritage Collections Centre, where adults and children would be able to have behind the scenes tours and attend workshops.”

“It is envisaged that the Museum will look at creating a number of jobs to support the project including digitisation of the collections, creative community engagement, audience development, collections management and skills development,” the council said.

Carrie Canham, Curator of Ceredigion Museum, said: “We’ll be working with the Common Cause Foundation to explore how shared values can build bridges between Ceredigion’s various communities.

“We want to find out what matters to people in Ceredigion, why, and how the museum’s collections can reflect their values.”

Meinir Ebbsworth, Corporate Lead Officer for Schools in Ceredigion, said: “We are very grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting this project.

“It will be a fantastic resource to help us meet the aims of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and to deliver the new curriculum for Wales, which will support exciting cross-curricular learning of history, science, art and other key subjects.”