It may seem a long time since the government announced the abolition of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), but the integration of museums and libraries into Arts Council England’s (ACE) remit has stepped up a gear in recent months.
ACE is adamant that, despite its challenging funding situation, the upcoming changeover should be seen as an opportunity to unify the arts and culture sectors, with talk of building partnerships, sharing investment and promoting the key role of arts and culture in civic life.
ACE published its 10-year strategic framework for the arts, Achieving Great Art for Everyone, at the end of last year. As it was compiled before the MLA transition was confirmed, the document needed updating, and ACE commissioned Labour peer Estelle Morris to determine how its goals for the arts sector corresponded with those for museums and libraries – and how they differed.
Goals for museums
A final strategy is due out this month, but in the meantime, the museum sector has already had a glimpse of what ACE’s long-term ambitions for museums and galleries might look like, with the release of an “ice-breaker” document in July that outlined Morris’s findings.
The Morris review analysed ACE’s five existing goals in terms of how they could apply to the museum sector. The goals – which cover areas such as a commitment to excellence, boosting community engagement and fostering sustainability and resilience – will eventually form part of the assessment criteria for museums seeking Renaissance funding.
Morris consulted extensively with bodies such as the Museums Association (MA), the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and the National Museum Directors’ Conference (NMDC), and her review acknowledged many of the sector’s concerns about how museums would fit into the existing framework.
Funding model
Some key omissions in ACE’s original strategy, as identified by Morris, included the different ways in which excellence is measured; museum audiences being seen as active participants and co-producers, rather than passive receivers; and recognition of how buildings and collections can foster a sense of place and identity.
However, there are still worries that Morris’s report perpetuates several misconceptions.
One example, according to David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool, is that Morris’s first goal – a commitment to excellence – focused on the quality of collections and curatorial expertise, and failed to cite museums’ commitment to community participation and learning as a measure of excellence – an area in which it is widely acknowledged that museums have been pioneers.
In addition, the MA has queried ACE’s proposal that museums should be required to meet any two of the five goals in their applications for funding, instead calling for the second goal, which covers engagement with people and demonstrable public benefit, to be made compulsory for all applicants.
Maurice Davies, the MA’s head of policy, says this would reflect the widespread desire among museums to prioritise community impact – a view borne out by a consultation into Morris’s review conducted by the MA in July.
The MA’s survey, which garnered 65 responses from a wide range of museums and staff, found that most valued engagement more than other common themes such as learning and access to collections.
By and large, though, the feeling in the museum sector is that ACE appears to be listening to its views. The organisation’s announcement in August of a new approach to the £43m Renaissance in the Regions funding scheme underlined this.
The Arts Council decision to move away from the planned New Renaissance, which was envisaged by the MLA amid a very different funding landscape, has been largely welcomed. The model was described as “disruptive” by AIM and criticised by the MA as “risky and untested”.
Funding model
Instead of the Core museums model, which would have distributed funding through a network of 10 to 12 museums with no regional remit, ACE is now proposing a major grant programme similar to its National Portfolio scheme. The application process will accept submissions from non-national museums and consortia.
The grant scheme, which will start taking applications in September, is to appoint nearly double the number of regional museums proposed under the Core museums model, and these will play a much wider leadership role in the regions.
ACE also revealed that a strategic support fund would replace the MLA’s proposed Challenge Fund and announced that £3m of Renaissance money would be invested in museum development, though full details of both funding streams are yet to be released.
The sector has faced a long period of upheaval since the demise of the MLA; this summer’s progress means that the picture for some may finally be clearer in the months ahead.
• See comment, p16
ACE is adamant that, despite its challenging funding situation, the upcoming changeover should be seen as an opportunity to unify the arts and culture sectors, with talk of building partnerships, sharing investment and promoting the key role of arts and culture in civic life.
ACE published its 10-year strategic framework for the arts, Achieving Great Art for Everyone, at the end of last year. As it was compiled before the MLA transition was confirmed, the document needed updating, and ACE commissioned Labour peer Estelle Morris to determine how its goals for the arts sector corresponded with those for museums and libraries – and how they differed.
Goals for museums
A final strategy is due out this month, but in the meantime, the museum sector has already had a glimpse of what ACE’s long-term ambitions for museums and galleries might look like, with the release of an “ice-breaker” document in July that outlined Morris’s findings.
The Morris review analysed ACE’s five existing goals in terms of how they could apply to the museum sector. The goals – which cover areas such as a commitment to excellence, boosting community engagement and fostering sustainability and resilience – will eventually form part of the assessment criteria for museums seeking Renaissance funding.
Morris consulted extensively with bodies such as the Museums Association (MA), the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and the National Museum Directors’ Conference (NMDC), and her review acknowledged many of the sector’s concerns about how museums would fit into the existing framework.
Funding model
Some key omissions in ACE’s original strategy, as identified by Morris, included the different ways in which excellence is measured; museum audiences being seen as active participants and co-producers, rather than passive receivers; and recognition of how buildings and collections can foster a sense of place and identity.
However, there are still worries that Morris’s report perpetuates several misconceptions.
One example, according to David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool, is that Morris’s first goal – a commitment to excellence – focused on the quality of collections and curatorial expertise, and failed to cite museums’ commitment to community participation and learning as a measure of excellence – an area in which it is widely acknowledged that museums have been pioneers.
In addition, the MA has queried ACE’s proposal that museums should be required to meet any two of the five goals in their applications for funding, instead calling for the second goal, which covers engagement with people and demonstrable public benefit, to be made compulsory for all applicants.
Maurice Davies, the MA’s head of policy, says this would reflect the widespread desire among museums to prioritise community impact – a view borne out by a consultation into Morris’s review conducted by the MA in July.
The MA’s survey, which garnered 65 responses from a wide range of museums and staff, found that most valued engagement more than other common themes such as learning and access to collections.
By and large, though, the feeling in the museum sector is that ACE appears to be listening to its views. The organisation’s announcement in August of a new approach to the £43m Renaissance in the Regions funding scheme underlined this.
The Arts Council decision to move away from the planned New Renaissance, which was envisaged by the MLA amid a very different funding landscape, has been largely welcomed. The model was described as “disruptive” by AIM and criticised by the MA as “risky and untested”.
Funding model
Instead of the Core museums model, which would have distributed funding through a network of 10 to 12 museums with no regional remit, ACE is now proposing a major grant programme similar to its National Portfolio scheme. The application process will accept submissions from non-national museums and consortia.
The grant scheme, which will start taking applications in September, is to appoint nearly double the number of regional museums proposed under the Core museums model, and these will play a much wider leadership role in the regions.
ACE also revealed that a strategic support fund would replace the MLA’s proposed Challenge Fund and announced that £3m of Renaissance money would be invested in museum development, though full details of both funding streams are yet to be released.
The sector has faced a long period of upheaval since the demise of the MLA; this summer’s progress means that the picture for some may finally be clearer in the months ahead.
• See comment, p16
ACE’s goals at a glance
- Talent and artistic excellence are thriving and celebrated
- More people experience the arts and are inspired by them
- The arts are sustainable, resilient and innovative
- The arts leadership and workforce are diverse and highly skilled
- Every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts.
