Local authority museums in Northern Ireland are still being restructured – two years after a reorganisation that reduced the number of councils from 26 to 11.
Belfast City Council and Mid-Ulster District Council are not operating a museum service, while Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council are still restructuring.
The overhaul of the local council structure began in April 2015. The ‘super councils’ created have gained significant new responsibilities, including planning, local economic development and community investment.
According to the Northern Ireland Museums Council (NIMC), it has been a long process and there are still teething problems, as councils build teams and introduce new roles to accommodate expanded services.
An NIMC statement says: “While most of the directorate and staffing structure at councils have now been agreed and staffed, some have not. Some museum managers are awaiting the appointment of their line managers at the council, and this has been difficult in terms of strategic direction and support.”
Different directorates
Councils have also placed museums under different directorates, and responsibility for services is now with departments ranging from operations and community to enterprise, regeneration and tourism.
It has led some to voice concerns about a lack of a cohesive strategy for culture.
So far, none of Northern Ireland’s 20 local authority museums have closed and, where restructuring has been completed, there are reports of improved collaboration and museum services feeling that there are opportunities to get more involved in a wider range of council projects.
Margaret Edwards, the museum and visitor services manager (acting) at Derry City & Strabane District Council, says there were concerns the changes would damage the sector, but that has not happened.
“It is a tighter structure now and it does allow for more collaboration,” she says.
“There were 26 councils, but now there are just 11. So you can work closely with the two or three in your area.”
Edwards says there are already more opportunities for the museum service to work across a wider rural area and to extend the collection beyond the city.
“We have been working with the historic environment division and looking at tying up museums with archaeology, although that is only just beginning to take shape,” Edwards says.
For Heather McGuicken, the manager at the North Down Museum, now part of Ards and North Down Borough Council, the challenge has been to create a museum service in an area in which there is only one museum. With no neighbouring service to merge with, McGuicken has received no additional budget or staff.
“We have been reaching out to Ards, which is more rural than North Down,” she says. “We made contact with local historical societies, so we could create something to take out to the local community.”
North Down Museum worked with several historical societies to develop a first world war project, which included an exhibition. Locals were encouraged to share photos and stories were recorded. The project, which travelled around community halls, libraries and a sailing club, received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
McGuicken says she is looking to repeat this success on bigger projects.
Positive signs
Plans to deliver museum services more uniformly across Northern Ireland, while consolidating the role the sector has in education, tourism, economic regeneration and health and wellbeing at a local level, may still be a way off, but the early signs are positive.
The NIMC statement says: “There appears to be better communication between museums in their new council areas, with some working closely together to develop shared plans, policies and procedures, reflecting their new operations, and new strategic partners and stakeholders. Operating within geographic remits, museums are developing their collections and audiences in response to this.”
Belfast City Council and Mid-Ulster District Council are not operating a museum service, while Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council are still restructuring.
The overhaul of the local council structure began in April 2015. The ‘super councils’ created have gained significant new responsibilities, including planning, local economic development and community investment.
According to the Northern Ireland Museums Council (NIMC), it has been a long process and there are still teething problems, as councils build teams and introduce new roles to accommodate expanded services.
An NIMC statement says: “While most of the directorate and staffing structure at councils have now been agreed and staffed, some have not. Some museum managers are awaiting the appointment of their line managers at the council, and this has been difficult in terms of strategic direction and support.”
Different directorates
Councils have also placed museums under different directorates, and responsibility for services is now with departments ranging from operations and community to enterprise, regeneration and tourism.
It has led some to voice concerns about a lack of a cohesive strategy for culture.
So far, none of Northern Ireland’s 20 local authority museums have closed and, where restructuring has been completed, there are reports of improved collaboration and museum services feeling that there are opportunities to get more involved in a wider range of council projects.
Margaret Edwards, the museum and visitor services manager (acting) at Derry City & Strabane District Council, says there were concerns the changes would damage the sector, but that has not happened.
“It is a tighter structure now and it does allow for more collaboration,” she says.
“There were 26 councils, but now there are just 11. So you can work closely with the two or three in your area.”
Edwards says there are already more opportunities for the museum service to work across a wider rural area and to extend the collection beyond the city.
“We have been working with the historic environment division and looking at tying up museums with archaeology, although that is only just beginning to take shape,” Edwards says.
For Heather McGuicken, the manager at the North Down Museum, now part of Ards and North Down Borough Council, the challenge has been to create a museum service in an area in which there is only one museum. With no neighbouring service to merge with, McGuicken has received no additional budget or staff.
“We have been reaching out to Ards, which is more rural than North Down,” she says. “We made contact with local historical societies, so we could create something to take out to the local community.”
North Down Museum worked with several historical societies to develop a first world war project, which included an exhibition. Locals were encouraged to share photos and stories were recorded. The project, which travelled around community halls, libraries and a sailing club, received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
McGuicken says she is looking to repeat this success on bigger projects.
Positive signs
Plans to deliver museum services more uniformly across Northern Ireland, while consolidating the role the sector has in education, tourism, economic regeneration and health and wellbeing at a local level, may still be a way off, but the early signs are positive.
The NIMC statement says: “There appears to be better communication between museums in their new council areas, with some working closely together to develop shared plans, policies and procedures, reflecting their new operations, and new strategic partners and stakeholders. Operating within geographic remits, museums are developing their collections and audiences in response to this.”