Culture 24 plans to go ahead with a weekend event to replace the annual Museums and Galleries Month (MGM), which was axed following recommendations by consultant Morris Hargreaves McIntyre.
Trustees for the Campaign for Museums, which runs MGM, have dissolved the charity, which was set up in 1998. MGM will be replaced by a Museums at Night Weekend in 2009.
The consultant's report concluded that there was "little or no support for MGM to continue in its current format" and that while it was seen broadly as a "good thing", support had come about because of an absence of alternatives in the sector.
The report found that MGM had generated an advertising value equivalent of £642,000 in 2007 and an editorial value of £1.6m. The report recommended that the infrastructure and networks be passed to Culture 24.
Culture 24, a not-for-profit online publisher, now plans a weekend event beginning on 15 May. It currently has no budget, but hopes to secure £25,000-£30,000 to market the event - less than a quarter of the cost of staging MGM.
Culture 24 director Jane Finnis said: "Should another funding stream come about, we would be very well placed to use it. There is not going to be another MGM, so we are working with the MLA to get funding for this to continue so that May remains the focus."
Ylva French, executive director of the Campaign for Museums, said MGM had received £65,000 a year for the past three years from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). She added that other grants, such as from the arts council, had helped double this total.
"The MLA rejected our plans for a new-style MGM as part of the Cultural Olympiad," said French. "A review said that MGM had been a great success but needed to change. We agreed. However, the MLA has decided that they do not want the Campaign for Museums to lead that change.
Trustees for the Campaign for Museums, which runs MGM, have dissolved the charity, which was set up in 1998. MGM will be replaced by a Museums at Night Weekend in 2009.
The consultant's report concluded that there was "little or no support for MGM to continue in its current format" and that while it was seen broadly as a "good thing", support had come about because of an absence of alternatives in the sector.
The report found that MGM had generated an advertising value equivalent of £642,000 in 2007 and an editorial value of £1.6m. The report recommended that the infrastructure and networks be passed to Culture 24.
Culture 24, a not-for-profit online publisher, now plans a weekend event beginning on 15 May. It currently has no budget, but hopes to secure £25,000-£30,000 to market the event - less than a quarter of the cost of staging MGM.
Culture 24 director Jane Finnis said: "Should another funding stream come about, we would be very well placed to use it. There is not going to be another MGM, so we are working with the MLA to get funding for this to continue so that May remains the focus."
Ylva French, executive director of the Campaign for Museums, said MGM had received £65,000 a year for the past three years from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). She added that other grants, such as from the arts council, had helped double this total.
"The MLA rejected our plans for a new-style MGM as part of the Cultural Olympiad," said French. "A review said that MGM had been a great success but needed to change. We agreed. However, the MLA has decided that they do not want the Campaign for Museums to lead that change.
