We have experienced the worst recession since the 1930s and the government is committed to cutting its way out our economic difficulties.
We already have evidence to demonstrate that spending on arts and culture is a soft target – witness the proposed 50 per cent cut at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the winding up of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council by 2012.
The government seems to have chosen to ignore the fact that this approach to arts and culture destabilises its big idea; civilised individuals who respect their fellow citizens are essential to the delivery of the Big Society.
In the face of mounting threats, the sector is obliged to ensure that the benefits of the relatively small sums of money that go to museums are accurately targeted on opening up and developing our fantastic collections for learning and enjoyment.
Loans are an accepted way of doing this – but only in proscribed circumstances and with lots of conditions attached. How sustainable is our current approach going to be in light of impending budget squeezes and staff reductions that are going to permanently change the landscape of museums?
Rather than seeing the current economic climate as a threat to collection mobility, we should see it as an opportunity to review the way we do things.
Essentially, Smarter Loans – the Museums Association’s scheme to review loans – is asking us to acknowledge the pragmatic way we care for our collections in our own museums and to recognise that asking for more from a borrowing institution is neither helpful nor necessary. It is asking us to respect the professionalism of our fellow professionals.
Our reluctance to let anyone not on the payroll of our own institutions – but who might be just as qualified – handle our collections has inflated the cost of loans. In Wales, this approach threatens to compromise any attempt to develop a coordinated approach to loans, a key aspiration of the recently published Museum Strategy for Wales.
Despite the spending squeeze, there are opportunities here for moving forward creatively. Perhaps national museums could work with local museums to develop networks of curators, conservators and collection managers who are ‘accredited’ to handle national collections?
This is but one example of the choices we now have to make. We can use our self-regulations to restrict loan activity at a time when it has never been more important to prove the value of museums, or use Smarter Loans as a catalyst to greater collaboration.
Diane Gwilt is the keeper of collection services at Amgueddfa Cymru –National Museum Wales
Click here for more on Smarter Loans
We already have evidence to demonstrate that spending on arts and culture is a soft target – witness the proposed 50 per cent cut at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the winding up of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council by 2012.
The government seems to have chosen to ignore the fact that this approach to arts and culture destabilises its big idea; civilised individuals who respect their fellow citizens are essential to the delivery of the Big Society.
In the face of mounting threats, the sector is obliged to ensure that the benefits of the relatively small sums of money that go to museums are accurately targeted on opening up and developing our fantastic collections for learning and enjoyment.
Loans are an accepted way of doing this – but only in proscribed circumstances and with lots of conditions attached. How sustainable is our current approach going to be in light of impending budget squeezes and staff reductions that are going to permanently change the landscape of museums?
Rather than seeing the current economic climate as a threat to collection mobility, we should see it as an opportunity to review the way we do things.
Essentially, Smarter Loans – the Museums Association’s scheme to review loans – is asking us to acknowledge the pragmatic way we care for our collections in our own museums and to recognise that asking for more from a borrowing institution is neither helpful nor necessary. It is asking us to respect the professionalism of our fellow professionals.
Our reluctance to let anyone not on the payroll of our own institutions – but who might be just as qualified – handle our collections has inflated the cost of loans. In Wales, this approach threatens to compromise any attempt to develop a coordinated approach to loans, a key aspiration of the recently published Museum Strategy for Wales.
Despite the spending squeeze, there are opportunities here for moving forward creatively. Perhaps national museums could work with local museums to develop networks of curators, conservators and collection managers who are ‘accredited’ to handle national collections?
This is but one example of the choices we now have to make. We can use our self-regulations to restrict loan activity at a time when it has never been more important to prove the value of museums, or use Smarter Loans as a catalyst to greater collaboration.
Diane Gwilt is the keeper of collection services at Amgueddfa Cymru –National Museum Wales
Click here for more on Smarter Loans
