Opinion
Dancing stars are born from a little chaos
The financial shock waves are taking a painful toll on our sector. The future seems so uncertain – what will be left, and what, if anything, can we do? Actually, there is a lot we can do. We just need the chance to stop, think, talk to each other, and be inspired. The temptation when times …
Cultural learning is too valuable to lose
This is not a whinge or special pleading at a time of savage cuts, but a wake-up call about cuts in funding to learning services in museums, galleries and heritage. These appear to reflect a shift in attitudes to learning and a step back to earlier assumptions about where learning belongs. Not only are learning …
Tell your own story before others do it for you
A recent article in the Guardian stated it is the government’s intention that every public service could be put out to tender. It explained: “A private company – or in theory a very large charity – can challenge any service they would like to run and bid to take it over. If Serco or Capita …
Letters
Sometimes you have to put your dreams on hold I am writing in response to the letter entitled “You can close our museums but you can’t take our dreams”. To look uncompromisingly for work in the museum sector while in the midst of the worst economic recession since the second world war is admirable. But …
Are tiered entry prices a way forward for museums?
Last year I chaired a small group set up by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council to think about the future of museums. It was a good mix of museum expertise and outsider viewpoints. For me, as a lay person who has always been in the habit of visiting museums but had never looked at …