Estelle Morris’s review of Arts Council England’s (ACE) ten-year strategy Achieving Great Art for Everyone (AGAFE) and its five goals provide useful food for thought for the museum sector and ACE.
For the sector, it’s an opportunity to reappraise its own recent priorities and what they should be for the future. For ACE, it is of fundamental importance in providing a vision and focus for its funding of Renaissance.
When I first considered AGAFE, I was struck by how well the five strategic goals it sets out fitted museum priorities (increasing number and quality of visitor experience; investing in the quality of leadership and the diversity of the workforce; ensuring organisations were sustainable and resilient).
But I agree with Estelle that two of those goals are more challenging and need discussion.
AGAFE’s first goal talks about talent and artistic excellence thriving and being celebrated; its fifth goal calls for every child and young person to have the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts.
The museum sector’s investment in children and young people has been truly impressive, with many museums now at capacity in terms of serving schools. There are very few museums that do not echo to the sound of excited schoolchildren on most days.
Museums have now moved beyond simply serving schools and are working on wider lifelong-learning agendas. Is there anything new we can do for children?
We should always be looking to raise the bar and be innovative in our approach, but I believe that this is an area where the museums sector has expertise to offer the arts as they seek to increase engagement with children.
The first goal poses a different sort of challenge. What does excellence look like in museums, and how is it different to excellence in other cultural and art forms?
One answer is collections. Estelle makes the point that collections are the distinct USP of museums in comparison to ACE’s other cultural forms. Our collections should be excellent, as should be the way we care for them.
They should contain objects of true distinction and true value to society. Many are, but we also need to acknowledge that at present some museums hold, and invest resources in, collections that are at best mundane and at worst, valueless.
However, collections are only the starting point (just as the written play is for theatre). True excellence comes from the quality of our engagement with audiences. The very best museum experience is inspiring and life changing. It should be memorable and provide a new perspective and understanding of the world.
I believe that one of the many advantages to come from museums being under a wider artistic remit will be that we can really emphasise the distinctiveness of the museum experience.
Social benefit will of course still be hugely important, but we also need to do more to translate the passion and expertise we have for our collections, and the stories they tell, into excellent engagement with our audiences.
Really excellent museums will use valuable and distinct collections to engage and inspire their audiences. Perhaps in recent years the Renaissance programme has concentrated too much on trying to demonstrate social value and less on the quality of the experiences that it was helping to create. We now have an opportunity to get that balance right.
Hedley Swain is director, programme delivery, at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. He joins the Arts Council England as director, museums and Renaissance, this autumn
For the sector, it’s an opportunity to reappraise its own recent priorities and what they should be for the future. For ACE, it is of fundamental importance in providing a vision and focus for its funding of Renaissance.
When I first considered AGAFE, I was struck by how well the five strategic goals it sets out fitted museum priorities (increasing number and quality of visitor experience; investing in the quality of leadership and the diversity of the workforce; ensuring organisations were sustainable and resilient).
But I agree with Estelle that two of those goals are more challenging and need discussion.
AGAFE’s first goal talks about talent and artistic excellence thriving and being celebrated; its fifth goal calls for every child and young person to have the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts.
The museum sector’s investment in children and young people has been truly impressive, with many museums now at capacity in terms of serving schools. There are very few museums that do not echo to the sound of excited schoolchildren on most days.
Museums have now moved beyond simply serving schools and are working on wider lifelong-learning agendas. Is there anything new we can do for children?
We should always be looking to raise the bar and be innovative in our approach, but I believe that this is an area where the museums sector has expertise to offer the arts as they seek to increase engagement with children.
The first goal poses a different sort of challenge. What does excellence look like in museums, and how is it different to excellence in other cultural and art forms?
One answer is collections. Estelle makes the point that collections are the distinct USP of museums in comparison to ACE’s other cultural forms. Our collections should be excellent, as should be the way we care for them.
They should contain objects of true distinction and true value to society. Many are, but we also need to acknowledge that at present some museums hold, and invest resources in, collections that are at best mundane and at worst, valueless.
However, collections are only the starting point (just as the written play is for theatre). True excellence comes from the quality of our engagement with audiences. The very best museum experience is inspiring and life changing. It should be memorable and provide a new perspective and understanding of the world.
I believe that one of the many advantages to come from museums being under a wider artistic remit will be that we can really emphasise the distinctiveness of the museum experience.
Social benefit will of course still be hugely important, but we also need to do more to translate the passion and expertise we have for our collections, and the stories they tell, into excellent engagement with our audiences.
Really excellent museums will use valuable and distinct collections to engage and inspire their audiences. Perhaps in recent years the Renaissance programme has concentrated too much on trying to demonstrate social value and less on the quality of the experiences that it was helping to create. We now have an opportunity to get that balance right.
Hedley Swain is director, programme delivery, at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. He joins the Arts Council England as director, museums and Renaissance, this autumn
