Museums and galleries in Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall are struggling to cope with a spate of budget cuts affecting local authorities across the West Midlands.
Birmingham Museums Trust faces a £750,000 cut to its council grant for the financial year from April, which was proposed by a council budget consultation summary published in December. The trust had previously been preparing for a cut of £250,000 over the same period.
Walsall Council has put forward options including moving Walsall Leather Museum to the town’s central library, reducing the number of displays on show.
The New Art Gallery Walsall faces the loss of its council grant, despite already running on dramatically stripped-back resources. Consultation on the proposals finished in January, and the council is due to ratify its preferred options this month.
Dudley Museum and Art Gallery closed its doors on 22 December, and its collections are being moved to a new archives building, for display this summer.
Local opposition
All of the West Midlands funding cuts have faced significant local opposition.
Ellen McAdam, the director of Birmingham Museums Trust, says: “Birmingham City Council, because it’s so large, is disproportionately affected by the reduction in central government.
“The poorer local authorities tend to be disproportionately affected by government cuts. I think it probably affects similar-sized cities as well.”
By 2020, Birmingham is expected to have made £800m in cuts since the government introduced its austerity programme in 2010.
McAdam says the government should do more to support the regions.
“I don’t think it’s discrimination, but it’s very painful to live with,” she adds. Birmingham Museums Trust launched an online petition last year asking the public for support in reducing the size of the proposed cut.
“We’re lobbying as hard as we possibly can,” says McAdam. “I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Birmingham City Council – it’s in a really difficult position. At the same time, if it wants a museums service going forward, it has got to find ingenious ways of supporting us through a difficult time for all cultural institutions.
“We’ve made a remarkable adjustment during our history as a trust to earn much more of our own income. We need a bit of a hand up now.”
Council documents on the New Art Gallery Walsall state: “It is anticipated that the gallery will have to operate on a more commercial basis and become self-sustaining over the period of the medium-term financial outlook, or may close.”
A local authority spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from Museums Journal.
Opposition to closure
A petition against the closure of Dudley Museum and Art Gallery attracted 4,000 signatures last year.
Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, the cabinet member responsible for tourism, says: “I must stress to people that this is about the closure of a building, while looking at the best option to make sure that people still have access to exhibitions and displays that celebrate this borough’s proud history.”
Birmingham Museums Trust faces a £750,000 cut to its council grant for the financial year from April, which was proposed by a council budget consultation summary published in December. The trust had previously been preparing for a cut of £250,000 over the same period.
Walsall Council has put forward options including moving Walsall Leather Museum to the town’s central library, reducing the number of displays on show.
The New Art Gallery Walsall faces the loss of its council grant, despite already running on dramatically stripped-back resources. Consultation on the proposals finished in January, and the council is due to ratify its preferred options this month.
Dudley Museum and Art Gallery closed its doors on 22 December, and its collections are being moved to a new archives building, for display this summer.
Local opposition
All of the West Midlands funding cuts have faced significant local opposition.
Ellen McAdam, the director of Birmingham Museums Trust, says: “Birmingham City Council, because it’s so large, is disproportionately affected by the reduction in central government.
“The poorer local authorities tend to be disproportionately affected by government cuts. I think it probably affects similar-sized cities as well.”
By 2020, Birmingham is expected to have made £800m in cuts since the government introduced its austerity programme in 2010.
McAdam says the government should do more to support the regions.
“I don’t think it’s discrimination, but it’s very painful to live with,” she adds. Birmingham Museums Trust launched an online petition last year asking the public for support in reducing the size of the proposed cut.
“We’re lobbying as hard as we possibly can,” says McAdam. “I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Birmingham City Council – it’s in a really difficult position. At the same time, if it wants a museums service going forward, it has got to find ingenious ways of supporting us through a difficult time for all cultural institutions.
“We’ve made a remarkable adjustment during our history as a trust to earn much more of our own income. We need a bit of a hand up now.”
Council documents on the New Art Gallery Walsall state: “It is anticipated that the gallery will have to operate on a more commercial basis and become self-sustaining over the period of the medium-term financial outlook, or may close.”
A local authority spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from Museums Journal.
Opposition to closure
A petition against the closure of Dudley Museum and Art Gallery attracted 4,000 signatures last year.
Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, the cabinet member responsible for tourism, says: “I must stress to people that this is about the closure of a building, while looking at the best option to make sure that people still have access to exhibitions and displays that celebrate this borough’s proud history.”