Christian Dettlaff is the gallery and exhibitions manager at the Guildford House Gallery
No: Corporate hire can spell physical and moral disaster for museums. From loss of collections to damage to the museum's reputation - museums have had to learn the hard way.
But does corporate hire really represent the threat we believe it does? I think the answer is no, the key words being 'suitability' and 'preparedness'.
Museums must ensure the client's identity and value structures are well-matched to the venue. Museum and hirer should consult fully, leaving nothing to chance. Clear restrictions as to hire purpose, building and exhibits should be in place.
Spaces for hire should be vetted carefully, and only areas where damage is unlikely or containable should be leased. Numbers should be restricted and adequate staffing and security arranged.
If thought through carefully, corporate hire can offer museums many benefits. Staff can meet possible sponsors for future events or potential acquisitions, often people who otherwise would not visit. Corporate events can promote awareness of collections and objects.
Clients - who are ultimately visitors - experience collections differently after hours. This establishes a 'feel-good' factor, a conviction that the public matters to the museum. And I still haven't mentioned the most immediate benefit: publicity and income, the advantage of which will always be felt by the museum's favourite user - Joe Public.
Tim Knox joined the Sir John Soane's Museum in London as its director in May of this year. He is also an architectural historian. Knox was previously the head curator at the National Trust
Yes: To make ends meet the Sir John Soane's Museum is available for hire in the evenings for receptions, dinners and recitals. We charge a fee of £4,500 for an evening, with the hire of staff and catering arrangements being extra.
Last year, the museum earned more than £50,000 from the hire of its fine rooms. This funding is essential, because it supports the upkeep of the house and its collections.
But I am concerned about damage to the historic rooms from the constant coming and going of chairs, catering ovens and serving staff.
Food, drink and candles - however carefully controlled - will all add to the wear and tear on a set of rooms that must rank among the least spoilt Regency interiors anywhere. Should the Soane's fine rooms be declared 'off season', and if so how do we replace that vital income?
The museum has recently acquired the house next door, 14 Lincoln's Inn Fields, which will become the setting for all but the most special entertainments when the house is restored and reopened in 2006. The restored
L-shaped suite of drawing rooms on the first floor of the new house will become a superb - and relatively robust - venue for parties and receptions and help sustain the museum well into the 21st century.
No: Corporate hire can spell physical and moral disaster for museums. From loss of collections to damage to the museum's reputation - museums have had to learn the hard way.
But does corporate hire really represent the threat we believe it does? I think the answer is no, the key words being 'suitability' and 'preparedness'.
Museums must ensure the client's identity and value structures are well-matched to the venue. Museum and hirer should consult fully, leaving nothing to chance. Clear restrictions as to hire purpose, building and exhibits should be in place.
Spaces for hire should be vetted carefully, and only areas where damage is unlikely or containable should be leased. Numbers should be restricted and adequate staffing and security arranged.
If thought through carefully, corporate hire can offer museums many benefits. Staff can meet possible sponsors for future events or potential acquisitions, often people who otherwise would not visit. Corporate events can promote awareness of collections and objects.
Clients - who are ultimately visitors - experience collections differently after hours. This establishes a 'feel-good' factor, a conviction that the public matters to the museum. And I still haven't mentioned the most immediate benefit: publicity and income, the advantage of which will always be felt by the museum's favourite user - Joe Public.
Tim Knox joined the Sir John Soane's Museum in London as its director in May of this year. He is also an architectural historian. Knox was previously the head curator at the National Trust
Yes: To make ends meet the Sir John Soane's Museum is available for hire in the evenings for receptions, dinners and recitals. We charge a fee of £4,500 for an evening, with the hire of staff and catering arrangements being extra.
Last year, the museum earned more than £50,000 from the hire of its fine rooms. This funding is essential, because it supports the upkeep of the house and its collections.
But I am concerned about damage to the historic rooms from the constant coming and going of chairs, catering ovens and serving staff.
Food, drink and candles - however carefully controlled - will all add to the wear and tear on a set of rooms that must rank among the least spoilt Regency interiors anywhere. Should the Soane's fine rooms be declared 'off season', and if so how do we replace that vital income?
The museum has recently acquired the house next door, 14 Lincoln's Inn Fields, which will become the setting for all but the most special entertainments when the house is restored and reopened in 2006. The restored
L-shaped suite of drawing rooms on the first floor of the new house will become a superb - and relatively robust - venue for parties and receptions and help sustain the museum well into the 21st century.
