During the Easter break, I was looking for something interesting to do on a day off work and, as often is the case, visiting a museum seemed a good option. After going to Tate Britain to see the wonderful Hurvin Anderson exhibition (free entry with my Museums Association membership card; on until 23 August) a couple of family members and I headed to Trafalgar Square to pop in to the National Gallery.
With no entry fee to pay and efficient staff at the new Sainsbury Wing entrance, I was face-to-face with a Leonardo da Vinci painting less than a minute after arriving. The experience got me thinking about free entry to national museums, which was introduced 25 years ago, a debate that has been playing out in the press recently. Would I have made the trip to the National Gallery if there had been an entry fee and the resulting long queues that would be required to charge everyone?
There is no doubt that the museum sector is struggling financially. This issue highlights that all too clearly, whether it is the stress felt by staff working in the sector, the plight of Subject Specialist Networks, or threats to industrial heritage sites. We also look at some of the wider issues, including the search for new business models and growing inequalities between national and regional museums.
The issue of free entry is part of the debate on how best to fund the sector.
Many question why a universal public good should be the first thing to go when there are other options, including a tourist tax.
The free entry debate might relate just to nationals, and not everyone is lucky enough to be able to just pop in to a London venue. But many other museums know the benefits of free access. Earlier this year I visited the revamped Harris museum in Preston. This vibrant venue was full of engaged visitors on a Thursday morning outside of school holidays. My guess is that the experience would have been very different if the museum charged for entry, although it should be acknowledged that free admission does not work for every venue.
But whatever the model a museum operates under, we need a sustainable funding system for organisations across the sector – at the moment we don’t have it