Three in 5 small museums and galleries within the UK worry closure amid declining income and footfall, analysis printed this week suggests. The survey of 40 small, impartial sights—these with fewer than 100,000 annual guests—additionally discovered that 4 in 5 (78%) reported the present interval as essentially the most difficult the sector has confronted, whereas over half (58%) stated total revenue has not returned to its pre-Covid ranges.
The analysis, performed by the cloud platform GoDaddy in partnership with the charity Children in Museums, surveyed small museums in addition to galleries, historic buildings and heritage websites. Alison Bowyers, the manager director of Children in Museums, tells The Artwork Newspaper that UK museums are struggling greater than their counterparts in mainland Europe.
She says: “Within the UK, the general development has been for a slower restoration in museum customer numbers publish pandemic than in different European nations. In 2023, a variety of European nations together with France, Spain, the Netherlands and Iceland noticed document numbers of museum guests.
“In England, analysis reveals that total customer numbers are nonetheless 8% decrease than pre-pandemic ranges. The smallest museums and museums outdoors London, significantly within the North and Midlands, are the furthest away from reaching pre-pandemic numbers.”
Requested why the UK has fallen behind its European neighbours, Bowyer says it’s exhausting to determine a single issue that has slowed the UK restoration, however lists the unequal influence of the price of dwelling disaster and funding within the arts as potential contributing elements. That is supported by the newly launched analysis, which discovered that two thirds (64%) of respondents stated footfall had declined as a consequence of the price of dwelling, whereas 61% had seen a decline in customer spend.
Bowyers says: “Monetary pressure on households and the price of visiting a museum, even when admission is free, have develop into essentially the most important barrier to visits up to now few years. The price of dwelling disaster hit the UK extra severely than different European nations and was unfold extra unequally, with these on the bottom incomes hit the toughest. The influence of the price of dwelling disaster additionally precipitated a big decline in class journeys to museums.
“The collision of the pandemic, Brexit and the price of dwelling disaster got here after a decade of underinvestment in UK museums. Whereas some European governments additionally minimize prices, the general stage of public funding in tradition in Europe remained considerably greater.”
Responding to this “collision”, one in 5 (22%) of organisations surveyed reported having to scale back programming to guard their future, whereas 17% stated they’ve lowered the times they open.
Bowyers additionally cites 2024 polling from YouGov, which confirmed that three quarters of UK adults suppose that having an area museum provides worth to their native space, and over half could be upset if their native museum closed. This survey additionally reveals robust assist for public funding for museums.
She says there’s extra that nationwide and native governments can do to assist the sector: “Native authority funding is a large subject for a lot of smaller museums. A good, long-term funding settlement for native authorities is important for the way forward for these museums. In addition to persevering with to speculate, native authorities can assist smaller museums in different methods comparable to advertising and marketing, advocacy, transport and accessibility. Small adjustments could make an enormous distinction.”
Hannah Harte, director of 1 such small museum, the London Museum of Water and Steam, says: “Museums like ours are beneficial group sources, bringing matters like historical past, science, and engineering to life…Regardless of our greatest efforts, footfall stays 20-25% beneath pre-pandemic ranges, and rising operational prices make it more durable than ever to maintain our doorways open.”
Earlier this week the UK authorities introduced a £270m funding bundle for cash-strapped cultural venues, with some cash earmarked for regional museums in want of “pressing want of economic assist”. The £4.85m Heritage Revival Fund is designed to allow group organisations to personal and restore uncared for heritage buildings, whereas the fifth spherical of the Museum Property and Improvement Fund will present £25m for native museums throughout the UK which have to improve their buildings.
