The touring exhibition The Queen: Art and Image, led by the National Portrait Gallery, has received sponsorship for its London and Edinburgh legs, where an entry charge will be levied, but not for Cardiff and Belfast, where admission will be free.
KPMG, which has previously sponsored exhibitions that have been shown at National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI), will sponsor only the National Portrait Gallery leg of the tour, while asset managers and solicitors Turcan Connell will sponsor the exhibition at Edinburgh’s National Gallery.
Naomi Conway, head of development at the National Portrait Gallery, said: “KPMG would have seen a proposal with both options. It did look at national sponsorship, but selected to go for London.
“It would have cost about double nationally. If you’ve got a carefully planned budget, that is a consideration.”
KPMG refused to comment, saying conversations about sponsorship were private.
Asked whether he thought the National Portrait Gallery, as lead partner, could have pushed harder for a national sponsor, the director general of National Museum Wales, David Anderson, said: “The original ambition was that there should be sponsorship for all if possible, but it proved not to be possible. When that became obvious, we agreed to try to find our own sponsors.”
National Museum Wales is seeking local sponsors for the exhibition, which opens in Cardiff in February 2012.
Anderson said the cultural context in Wales meant that people were not accustomed to paying for exhibitions.
An NMNI spokeswoman said: “Wherever possible, we do not charge for exhibitions.”
The tour begins in Edinburgh on 25 June.
l See philanthropy feature, p29
KPMG, which has previously sponsored exhibitions that have been shown at National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI), will sponsor only the National Portrait Gallery leg of the tour, while asset managers and solicitors Turcan Connell will sponsor the exhibition at Edinburgh’s National Gallery.
Naomi Conway, head of development at the National Portrait Gallery, said: “KPMG would have seen a proposal with both options. It did look at national sponsorship, but selected to go for London.
“It would have cost about double nationally. If you’ve got a carefully planned budget, that is a consideration.”
KPMG refused to comment, saying conversations about sponsorship were private.
Asked whether he thought the National Portrait Gallery, as lead partner, could have pushed harder for a national sponsor, the director general of National Museum Wales, David Anderson, said: “The original ambition was that there should be sponsorship for all if possible, but it proved not to be possible. When that became obvious, we agreed to try to find our own sponsors.”
National Museum Wales is seeking local sponsors for the exhibition, which opens in Cardiff in February 2012.
Anderson said the cultural context in Wales meant that people were not accustomed to paying for exhibitions.
An NMNI spokeswoman said: “Wherever possible, we do not charge for exhibitions.”
The tour begins in Edinburgh on 25 June.
l See philanthropy feature, p29
