Galleries face mixed future
While all galleries are having to cope with ongoing funding cuts, those with supportive local authorities are facing the future with more confidence
While all regional art galleries are battling with cuts to their core funding, there is an uneven picture across England in terms of their future financial health.
Galleries such as Eastbourne’s Towner Art Gallery and the New Art Gallery in Walsall are facing uncertain futures, as they seek new ways in which to make up for significant reductions in their local authority funding.
In Bristol, contemporary arts gallery Arnolfini is developing a new strategy to secure its financial viability after losing its Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status, which has meant an annual loss in funding of £750,000. As an NPO from 2015-18, Arnolfini received £2.25m over the three years.
Despite the challenges facing galleries, the overall picture is not totally bleak. The Hepworth Wakefield is going from strength to strength and scooped the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year prize in July, while Leeds Art Gallery reopened last month after a £4.5m redevelopment.
Council support
While public funding is essential to the continued success of regional galleries, the backing of local councils, beyond just money, is very important.
“Some local authorities do understand the economic and social value of art and of galleries,” says Niamh Pearce, the acting director of the Towner Art Gallery. “Where you have the right people in the right decision-making roles, it can have a significant impact. Some areas have, some don’t.”
Pearce has replaced Emma Morris, who resigned as Towner’s director in July. Morris had been critical of Eastbourne Borough Council’s decision to cut funding for the gallery.
John Roles, the head of museums and galleries at Leeds City Council, says the city’s cultural offer has retained council support.
“We are seen as a success,” says Roles. “The council leader has retained culture and the economy as her portfolio, which makes a clear statement. Refurbishments and improvement such as the latest work are dependent on wider support across the council, not only in terms of money, but also in terms of expertise and staff.”
Not that the gallery has escaped cuts, with more than £1m having been taken from the Leeds Art Gallery’s budget since the austerity measures began. This has led to the gallery closing on Mondays and no longer opening one evening a week.
Pearce believes that to secure the future of more regional galleries, councils have to stop dismissing them as a luxury they can no longer afford. However, she adds that galleries also have to work harder than ever to make an argument for their social value.
Arnolfini director Claire Doherty, who joined in August from public arts project Situations, believes the Bristol gallery has the potential to be an “important arts organisation” for the city. She highlights the Arnolfini Grayson Perry exhibition, which opened on 27 September and attracted 20,000 visitors in its first two weeks, as an example of how the gallery has “reignited” its conversation with the city.
New revenue streams
“Most cultural leaders have had to be smarter about generating new revenue streams,” says Doherty. “Where galleries are struggling, they have relied too heavily on local authority and ACE funding.
“We need to very strongly argue for the continuation of arts funding because of its contribution to culture and also the civic health of a city. We need to advocate for that, and look at developing new business models.”
Work your assets
For Doherty, that means making more of a gallery’s assets – for example, hiring out parts of the building – to boost earned revenue, as well as increasing funding through partnerships.
“We need to really look at how we can work with partners to support with different forms of funding from across the city,” she says.
Partnerships help to make a gallery more resilient, agrees Pearce, with the Towner increasing its work with NHS partners, particularly in mental health, and with local schools.
However, she warns that these have to be balanced carefully with the gallery’s core mission.
“We are an ACE National Partner Organisation and, while that give us leeway and space to try different things, our core mission is to share our collection,” says Pearce.
Galleries such as Eastbourne’s Towner Art Gallery and the New Art Gallery in Walsall are facing uncertain futures, as they seek new ways in which to make up for significant reductions in their local authority funding.
In Bristol, contemporary arts gallery Arnolfini is developing a new strategy to secure its financial viability after losing its Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status, which has meant an annual loss in funding of £750,000. As an NPO from 2015-18, Arnolfini received £2.25m over the three years.
Despite the challenges facing galleries, the overall picture is not totally bleak. The Hepworth Wakefield is going from strength to strength and scooped the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year prize in July, while Leeds Art Gallery reopened last month after a £4.5m redevelopment.
Council support
While public funding is essential to the continued success of regional galleries, the backing of local councils, beyond just money, is very important.
“Some local authorities do understand the economic and social value of art and of galleries,” says Niamh Pearce, the acting director of the Towner Art Gallery. “Where you have the right people in the right decision-making roles, it can have a significant impact. Some areas have, some don’t.”
Pearce has replaced Emma Morris, who resigned as Towner’s director in July. Morris had been critical of Eastbourne Borough Council’s decision to cut funding for the gallery.
John Roles, the head of museums and galleries at Leeds City Council, says the city’s cultural offer has retained council support.
“We are seen as a success,” says Roles. “The council leader has retained culture and the economy as her portfolio, which makes a clear statement. Refurbishments and improvement such as the latest work are dependent on wider support across the council, not only in terms of money, but also in terms of expertise and staff.”
Not that the gallery has escaped cuts, with more than £1m having been taken from the Leeds Art Gallery’s budget since the austerity measures began. This has led to the gallery closing on Mondays and no longer opening one evening a week.
Pearce believes that to secure the future of more regional galleries, councils have to stop dismissing them as a luxury they can no longer afford. However, she adds that galleries also have to work harder than ever to make an argument for their social value.
Arnolfini director Claire Doherty, who joined in August from public arts project Situations, believes the Bristol gallery has the potential to be an “important arts organisation” for the city. She highlights the Arnolfini Grayson Perry exhibition, which opened on 27 September and attracted 20,000 visitors in its first two weeks, as an example of how the gallery has “reignited” its conversation with the city.
New revenue streams
“Most cultural leaders have had to be smarter about generating new revenue streams,” says Doherty. “Where galleries are struggling, they have relied too heavily on local authority and ACE funding.
“We need to very strongly argue for the continuation of arts funding because of its contribution to culture and also the civic health of a city. We need to advocate for that, and look at developing new business models.”
Work your assets
For Doherty, that means making more of a gallery’s assets – for example, hiring out parts of the building – to boost earned revenue, as well as increasing funding through partnerships.
“We need to really look at how we can work with partners to support with different forms of funding from across the city,” she says.
Partnerships help to make a gallery more resilient, agrees Pearce, with the Towner increasing its work with NHS partners, particularly in mental health, and with local schools.
However, she warns that these have to be balanced carefully with the gallery’s core mission.
“We are an ACE National Partner Organisation and, while that give us leeway and space to try different things, our core mission is to share our collection,” says Pearce.