Bristol's British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM) found it such a struggle to fund the temporary Breaking the Chains exhibition, which has made the Art Fund Prize longlist (see p4), that it had started to question where its next £1m exhibition would come from.
The museum's director, Gareth Griffiths, says that the decision to relocate to London (Museums Journal, January 2008, p5) raises wider concerns about the independent sector's sustainability, rather than simply being a BECM issue.
But Griffiths reveals an additional motivation when he says: "Given our international remit, we should be in London." Maybe the museum's sights had long been set on the capital and the little support it received from Bristol City Council - financial or otherwise - speeded up the decision.
Griffiths wants the new London institution to have more of an academic leaning. He has forged links with King's College London, and plans are under way for an conference at the university in May to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the British mandate in Palestine.
It has already proved far easier raising project money in London, according to Griffiths. He says £30,000 was raised for the May conference, from Jewish and Arab donors, in just two weeks. An exhibition on Palestine will follow next year.
Griffiths adds that he has managed to line up London partnerships for conferences and exhibitions for the next three years.
One of the big questions is what will feature in the London museum, and whether it will have a permanent collection on show. The museum's staff and trustees are soul-searching to come up with the answers by the summer, and Griffiths has declared a need to "rediscover our radical roots".
That radicalism is tied up with his vision for a London-based museum of tolerance. Griffiths has been in talks with Arab donors for some time about this project. Museums Journal understands that the core
of the museum will be interactive exhibits and presentations for visitors to explore issues of prejudice, diversity and tolerance.
A few key items will also be on display. This more issues-based facility will develop over time, drawing on filmed testimonies.
Last September, the BECM acquired 5,000 films from the Overseas Film and Television Archive. The films date from the 1920s to the 1980s. Added to the museum's existing collection, the BECM now boasts the UK's largest archive of colonial and post-colonial films in the country.
Griffiths has hinted at a Bloomsbury home for the new museum, but the more obvious space is the Commonwealth Institute - whose objects were given in trust to the BECM when it closed in the late-1990s - in Kensington. The building was sold to developers last year, who will choose from a shortlist of six architects to keep the premises intact.
The gap that will be left by the BECM has been lamented in newspapers in the South West, and among academia and community activists in Bristol and beyond.
Work began on the new Museum of Bristol last month, and it is to open in 2010. The BECM will be long gone by then, as it is scheduled to close in October.
Bristol Museums and the BECM worked together on Breaking the Chains. The exhibition, which was financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was scheduled to run for two years until March 2009.
Griffiths has said that despite the BECM's closure, the top floor of the museum, which hosts Breaking the Chains, will remain open. The exhibition will eventually transfer, in some form, to the Museum of Bristol.
Helen Holland, the leader of Bristol City Council, is confident of the Museum of Bristol's capacity to tell the story of the city's role in building the British Empire and Commonwealth.
But Madge Dresser, an academic adviser to the Museum of Bristol, said the limited space could not tell the complete story and could not be compared with the BECM.
The museum's director, Gareth Griffiths, says that the decision to relocate to London (Museums Journal, January 2008, p5) raises wider concerns about the independent sector's sustainability, rather than simply being a BECM issue.
But Griffiths reveals an additional motivation when he says: "Given our international remit, we should be in London." Maybe the museum's sights had long been set on the capital and the little support it received from Bristol City Council - financial or otherwise - speeded up the decision.
Griffiths wants the new London institution to have more of an academic leaning. He has forged links with King's College London, and plans are under way for an conference at the university in May to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the British mandate in Palestine.
It has already proved far easier raising project money in London, according to Griffiths. He says £30,000 was raised for the May conference, from Jewish and Arab donors, in just two weeks. An exhibition on Palestine will follow next year.
Griffiths adds that he has managed to line up London partnerships for conferences and exhibitions for the next three years.
One of the big questions is what will feature in the London museum, and whether it will have a permanent collection on show. The museum's staff and trustees are soul-searching to come up with the answers by the summer, and Griffiths has declared a need to "rediscover our radical roots".
That radicalism is tied up with his vision for a London-based museum of tolerance. Griffiths has been in talks with Arab donors for some time about this project. Museums Journal understands that the core
of the museum will be interactive exhibits and presentations for visitors to explore issues of prejudice, diversity and tolerance.
A few key items will also be on display. This more issues-based facility will develop over time, drawing on filmed testimonies.
Last September, the BECM acquired 5,000 films from the Overseas Film and Television Archive. The films date from the 1920s to the 1980s. Added to the museum's existing collection, the BECM now boasts the UK's largest archive of colonial and post-colonial films in the country.
Griffiths has hinted at a Bloomsbury home for the new museum, but the more obvious space is the Commonwealth Institute - whose objects were given in trust to the BECM when it closed in the late-1990s - in Kensington. The building was sold to developers last year, who will choose from a shortlist of six architects to keep the premises intact.
The gap that will be left by the BECM has been lamented in newspapers in the South West, and among academia and community activists in Bristol and beyond.
Work began on the new Museum of Bristol last month, and it is to open in 2010. The BECM will be long gone by then, as it is scheduled to close in October.
Bristol Museums and the BECM worked together on Breaking the Chains. The exhibition, which was financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was scheduled to run for two years until March 2009.
Griffiths has said that despite the BECM's closure, the top floor of the museum, which hosts Breaking the Chains, will remain open. The exhibition will eventually transfer, in some form, to the Museum of Bristol.
Helen Holland, the leader of Bristol City Council, is confident of the Museum of Bristol's capacity to tell the story of the city's role in building the British Empire and Commonwealth.
But Madge Dresser, an academic adviser to the Museum of Bristol, said the limited space could not tell the complete story and could not be compared with the BECM.
The BECM at a glance
The museum was the first attempt in the UK to collect and present the colonial past and its legacy.
Prior to opening in 2002, the museum twice applied for Heritage Lottery Fund money unsuccessfully.
Visitor numbers - 2006: target 80,000; actual 96,500; 2007: target 85,000; actual 84,000 (Feb to Nov)
The museum was the first attempt in the UK to collect and present the colonial past and its legacy.
Prior to opening in 2002, the museum twice applied for Heritage Lottery Fund money unsuccessfully.
Visitor numbers - 2006: target 80,000; actual 96,500; 2007: target 85,000; actual 84,000 (Feb to Nov)
