Plans for national art gallery and football museum move on
The Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have agreed a £5m budget for feasibility studies into the new museums. Rob Sharp reports
Money to take forward feasibility studies being carried out into a football museum in north Wales and a national art gallery are part of a proposed budget agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Labour-led Welsh government for the next two years.
Under the agreement, £5m has been allocated for the two projects in 2019-20. There is also £2.2m allocated for arts funding in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Ken Skates, the cabinet secretary for economy and infrastructure, approved the proposed feasibility study for a national football museum in north Wales, in March.
Victoria Rogers, the president of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, says she welcomes the investment, but is frustrated over the progress of government-led initiatives such as the Expert Review of Local Museum Provision in Wales, published in 2015. The report contained broad recommendations, including the closure of some museums and the establishment of a national body to manage collections.
“It’s great that the museum sector is being seen by the Welsh government as something it wants to invest in,” says Rogers. “But there’s frustration, as there have been a few reviews commissioned by the Welsh government whose recommendations are still sitting on the shelf.
“There has been minimal movement on some of the key recommendations [of the Expert Review of Local Museum Provision in Wales] because there hasn’t been funding released in order to progress them. Certainly, in terms of the expected budgets for local authorities and therefore the likelihood of more savings targetsbeing given to local museums.
“It would have been nice to have seen some funding being put towards the progression of some of the report’s recommendations, as well as establishing new national museums.
“Local museums are especially vulnerable at the moment.”
Long-term sustainability
John Marjoram, the federation’s development officer, is also concerned. “With proposals for two new museums, what commitment is there to long-term sustainability and future new revenue funding?” he says. “Would it [the money for the feasibility studies] not be better spent on existing museums that are having to fend off massive cuts?”
Details of a review into the operations and finances of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museums Wales – NMW) by former English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley were also published in September. The report’s recommendations included appointing a “high-calibre” commercial director to introduce selected charging regimes and membership schemes.
Thurley recommended that NMW, which operates seven museums, and the government should develop a 10-year vision for the organisation, with a five-year focus and a three-year funding agreement.
He called on the government to provide transitional funding to help NMW develop a “resilient business model for the future”.
Sue Davies, a museum consultant and one of three Museums Association representatives in Wales, says: “Everyone in Wales can be extremely proud of the national museum and its achievements – and this glowing report endorses that.
“It is gratifying that the report recognises the quality of the national museum’s work as ‘one of the great museums of the UK’ and ‘a successful and thriving organisation’, but particularly that it highlighted the enthusiasm, dedication, passion and specialisms of its staff.
“It’s a recognition with which the Welsh government seems to be similarly pleased, and its commissioning of the report is a means to ascertain how to best support the organisation for the future.
“It seemed well balanced and recognised the areas in which the recommendations could be put into best use. It provides a helpful framework to address those points.”
Under the agreement, £5m has been allocated for the two projects in 2019-20. There is also £2.2m allocated for arts funding in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Ken Skates, the cabinet secretary for economy and infrastructure, approved the proposed feasibility study for a national football museum in north Wales, in March.
Victoria Rogers, the president of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, says she welcomes the investment, but is frustrated over the progress of government-led initiatives such as the Expert Review of Local Museum Provision in Wales, published in 2015. The report contained broad recommendations, including the closure of some museums and the establishment of a national body to manage collections.
“It’s great that the museum sector is being seen by the Welsh government as something it wants to invest in,” says Rogers. “But there’s frustration, as there have been a few reviews commissioned by the Welsh government whose recommendations are still sitting on the shelf.
“There has been minimal movement on some of the key recommendations [of the Expert Review of Local Museum Provision in Wales] because there hasn’t been funding released in order to progress them. Certainly, in terms of the expected budgets for local authorities and therefore the likelihood of more savings targetsbeing given to local museums.
“It would have been nice to have seen some funding being put towards the progression of some of the report’s recommendations, as well as establishing new national museums.
“Local museums are especially vulnerable at the moment.”
Long-term sustainability
John Marjoram, the federation’s development officer, is also concerned. “With proposals for two new museums, what commitment is there to long-term sustainability and future new revenue funding?” he says. “Would it [the money for the feasibility studies] not be better spent on existing museums that are having to fend off massive cuts?”
Details of a review into the operations and finances of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museums Wales – NMW) by former English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley were also published in September. The report’s recommendations included appointing a “high-calibre” commercial director to introduce selected charging regimes and membership schemes.
Thurley recommended that NMW, which operates seven museums, and the government should develop a 10-year vision for the organisation, with a five-year focus and a three-year funding agreement.
He called on the government to provide transitional funding to help NMW develop a “resilient business model for the future”.
Sue Davies, a museum consultant and one of three Museums Association representatives in Wales, says: “Everyone in Wales can be extremely proud of the national museum and its achievements – and this glowing report endorses that.
“It is gratifying that the report recognises the quality of the national museum’s work as ‘one of the great museums of the UK’ and ‘a successful and thriving organisation’, but particularly that it highlighted the enthusiasm, dedication, passion and specialisms of its staff.
“It’s a recognition with which the Welsh government seems to be similarly pleased, and its commissioning of the report is a means to ascertain how to best support the organisation for the future.
“It seemed well balanced and recognised the areas in which the recommendations could be put into best use. It provides a helpful framework to address those points.”