Wales awaits report on state of museums
Survey will look at impact of spending cuts
As sector professionals across Wales anticipate the findings of a government-backed report on the impact of spending cuts on local authority-funded museums, a key museum in Cardiff is undergoing a restructure that could result in the loss of some of its gallery spaces.
Cardiff council cut funding for the Cardiff Story Museum by £220,000 to about £201,000 in its 2014-15 budget. This led to the axing of four posts, including the audience engagement officer.
Opening hours were also cut, with the museum closed on Sundays. The council plans to open a Welsh language and cultural centre in the museum building – the Old Library – after receiving a £400,000 grant from the government. The proposal involves reducing the square footage of the Cardiff Story Museum.
“Our phase one gallery, Cardiff in Context, will remain, along with the City Lab gallery. Everything else will move off-site,” says Victoria Rogers, the museum’s manager.
“The museum’s sole use of the recently refurbished first floor gallery will be lost,” says a council report from 28 May.
This temporary exhibition space has recently been used for corporate events.
“The museum will need to significantly reduce its footprint in the building to enable all of the Welsh language and cultural centre partners and associated facilities to be fully accommodated,” the report says.
“Essentially, this means that the majority of non-public-facing use of the building by the museum (ie offices and storage areas) will need to be relocated.”
Rogers says: “We’ve worked hard to create new business strands to aid our sustainability, including the corporate hire of our galleries, which has brought in more than £27,000 in income and resulted in repeat bookings.”
The council report stresses that rental income from the new language and cultural centre will “reduce the immediate financial burden of income targets on the Cardiff Story Museum”, adding that it could generate additional footfall. The council is considering setting up a heritage trust to cover the Old Library.
A spokesman for the museum’s trustees says that they “were reassured by the council’s acknowledgement of the need for the museum and its trustees to secure formal guarantees of access to various parts of the building”.
The Welsh government’s survey on the impact of budget cuts on local authority museums will be published later this year.
It was undertaken by a panel comprising, among others, Haydn Edwards, the vice-president of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales), and Adrian Babbidge, the director of the heritage consultancy Egeria.
“I hope that the report will say something about partnerships and coordination of service provision, and discuss financial assistance for transitioning from public to private governance,” says Steve Grenter, the heritage services manager at Wrexham County
Borough Council.
The panel has been asked to consider “alternative service-delivery models”, examples of best practice and areas of concern, and the impact of People’s Collection Wales, an online heritage resource.
Rachel Silverson, the president of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, says that her organisation will work with the government to ensure recommendations are taken forward.
“The report will also feed into our session at the Museums Association conference looking at new models of governance in a changing climate,” she adds.
The MA annual conference and exhibition is on 5-6 November in Birmingham.
Cardiff council cut funding for the Cardiff Story Museum by £220,000 to about £201,000 in its 2014-15 budget. This led to the axing of four posts, including the audience engagement officer.
Opening hours were also cut, with the museum closed on Sundays. The council plans to open a Welsh language and cultural centre in the museum building – the Old Library – after receiving a £400,000 grant from the government. The proposal involves reducing the square footage of the Cardiff Story Museum.
“Our phase one gallery, Cardiff in Context, will remain, along with the City Lab gallery. Everything else will move off-site,” says Victoria Rogers, the museum’s manager.
“The museum’s sole use of the recently refurbished first floor gallery will be lost,” says a council report from 28 May.
This temporary exhibition space has recently been used for corporate events.
“The museum will need to significantly reduce its footprint in the building to enable all of the Welsh language and cultural centre partners and associated facilities to be fully accommodated,” the report says.
“Essentially, this means that the majority of non-public-facing use of the building by the museum (ie offices and storage areas) will need to be relocated.”
Rogers says: “We’ve worked hard to create new business strands to aid our sustainability, including the corporate hire of our galleries, which has brought in more than £27,000 in income and resulted in repeat bookings.”
The council report stresses that rental income from the new language and cultural centre will “reduce the immediate financial burden of income targets on the Cardiff Story Museum”, adding that it could generate additional footfall. The council is considering setting up a heritage trust to cover the Old Library.
A spokesman for the museum’s trustees says that they “were reassured by the council’s acknowledgement of the need for the museum and its trustees to secure formal guarantees of access to various parts of the building”.
The Welsh government’s survey on the impact of budget cuts on local authority museums will be published later this year.
It was undertaken by a panel comprising, among others, Haydn Edwards, the vice-president of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales), and Adrian Babbidge, the director of the heritage consultancy Egeria.
“I hope that the report will say something about partnerships and coordination of service provision, and discuss financial assistance for transitioning from public to private governance,” says Steve Grenter, the heritage services manager at Wrexham County
Borough Council.
The panel has been asked to consider “alternative service-delivery models”, examples of best practice and areas of concern, and the impact of People’s Collection Wales, an online heritage resource.
Rachel Silverson, the president of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, says that her organisation will work with the government to ensure recommendations are taken forward.
“The report will also feed into our session at the Museums Association conference looking at new models of governance in a changing climate,” she adds.
The MA annual conference and exhibition is on 5-6 November in Birmingham.