Burrell tour will not raise £15m needed for redevelopment
Remaining funds will come from trusts, foundations and individual sponsors
The international tour of the Burrell Collection, which the Scottish Parliament was told would raise £15m towards the £66m refurbishment of the building in Pollok Country Park, is not expected to reach that target, with the remainder to come from trusts, foundations and individual sponsors.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament’s Burrell Collection (Lending and Borrowing) Scotland Bill Committee in 2013, councillor Archie Graham, then the council’s deputy leader and chair of Glasgow Life, said £15m would come from “fundraising and sponsorship of the tour”.
But a spokeswoman for Glasgow Life, which manages the collection, said today: “It is anticipated that there will be some revenue associated with the tour, but this is not the priority. The main reason for sharing Burrell’s treasures with the world is to highlight the quality and depth of the collection to global audiences, while the building is closed for a full refurbishment and display.”
The proposed tour has been controversial as it contravenes Burrell’s bequest that the collection should not leave the UK. The Scottish Parliament passed a bill overturning this aspect of the bequest in 2014.
In the committee’s 2013 report, it noted: “One of the supporting arguments made in the bill’s accompanying documents is the potential for lending to ‘provide a revenue stream’ to meet some of the costs of renovating the building in which the collection is housed.
“Witnesses said that they hoped to raise £15m through sponsorship and fundraising as a result of loans and a tour of the collection.”
The report indicated the committee was “not fully convinced” that the tour would generate the £15m, but that “nevertheless, the committee accepts that a contribution is likely to be raised either directly as a result of touring the collection or indirectly from raising its profile”.
The total cost of the refurbishment is estimated at £60-66m. Glasgow City Council has committed to fund up to 50%, with contributions of £5m coming from the UK government and £15m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“A structured fundraising campaign has now begun to secure the remaining funds from other public and private sources such as trusts and foundations, and individual supporters,” said a spokeswoman for Glasgow Life.
Glasgow Life would not disclose how much of the remaining funds are yet to be raised.
The Burrell Collection closes to the public on 23 October, but a series of exhibitions at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum will display objects from the collections.
Glasgow Life is still working on its plans to tour the collection internationally, but is anticipating that between 80 and 100 pieces from the 8,000-strong collection will go overseas.
Four works by Degas from the collection have been lent to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, for its exhibition Degas: A New Vision, which opens on 16 October.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament’s Burrell Collection (Lending and Borrowing) Scotland Bill Committee in 2013, councillor Archie Graham, then the council’s deputy leader and chair of Glasgow Life, said £15m would come from “fundraising and sponsorship of the tour”.
But a spokeswoman for Glasgow Life, which manages the collection, said today: “It is anticipated that there will be some revenue associated with the tour, but this is not the priority. The main reason for sharing Burrell’s treasures with the world is to highlight the quality and depth of the collection to global audiences, while the building is closed for a full refurbishment and display.”
The proposed tour has been controversial as it contravenes Burrell’s bequest that the collection should not leave the UK. The Scottish Parliament passed a bill overturning this aspect of the bequest in 2014.
In the committee’s 2013 report, it noted: “One of the supporting arguments made in the bill’s accompanying documents is the potential for lending to ‘provide a revenue stream’ to meet some of the costs of renovating the building in which the collection is housed.
“Witnesses said that they hoped to raise £15m through sponsorship and fundraising as a result of loans and a tour of the collection.”
The report indicated the committee was “not fully convinced” that the tour would generate the £15m, but that “nevertheless, the committee accepts that a contribution is likely to be raised either directly as a result of touring the collection or indirectly from raising its profile”.
The total cost of the refurbishment is estimated at £60-66m. Glasgow City Council has committed to fund up to 50%, with contributions of £5m coming from the UK government and £15m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“A structured fundraising campaign has now begun to secure the remaining funds from other public and private sources such as trusts and foundations, and individual supporters,” said a spokeswoman for Glasgow Life.
Glasgow Life would not disclose how much of the remaining funds are yet to be raised.
The Burrell Collection closes to the public on 23 October, but a series of exhibitions at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum will display objects from the collections.
Glasgow Life is still working on its plans to tour the collection internationally, but is anticipating that between 80 and 100 pieces from the 8,000-strong collection will go overseas.
Four works by Degas from the collection have been lent to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, for its exhibition Degas: A New Vision, which opens on 16 October.