Digital boom sustains museum audiences but not income
Volunteer programmes have been suspended and freelance contracts are at risk as museums take measures to sustain themselves throug…
Posts
Museums’ infrastructure is crumbling – literally
As cultural venues sit empty, a national audit finds the UK's museums in dire condition.
Museum freelancers to sector: ‘Fight for us’
UK museums, libraries, galleries and archives must “visibly and robustly stand up for freelancers who they frequently depend…
‘Don’t wash your hands of us’: Creative sector demands more support
Arts workers, unions and membership organisations react to UK-wide closures and the “unmanageable risks” presented by…
What we’ve learned from car parks about boosting attendance
A flexible pricing experiment caused the Weserburg Museum of Modern Art's visitor numbers to soar while maintaining steady inc…
Jewish Museum London pulls out of National Portfolio
The museum will continue to receive £220k a year from Arts Council England as well as an extra £100k to explore differ…
A collective voice for freelancers
Some organisations and funders do not see freelancers as an intrinsic part of the sector. The Museum Freelance network is advocati…
How can heritage respond to a changing world?
Climate change, activism, funding constraints, policy priorities… How can museums and heritage organisations adjust their p…
Cultural partnerships to lead high streets regeneration
Historic England envisages the community-led scheme will become a “catalyst for wider regeneration” in a similar way t…
‘Better evidence’ needed on immersive technology
A study warns that “debates about authenticity, re-creation and fakery are amplified by digital technologies”.
Millions more visit major museums
Several museums and galleries have recorded their highest visitor numbers in a decade – leading DCMS to claim it was a &ldqu…
£250m funding boost for culture
The Government’s “biggest ever single investment in cultural infrastructure” will pay for building maintenance i…
Heritage key to creative industries’ success, report claims
The Heritage Alliance is calling for greater recognition and funding to support the historic places and objects that underpin crea…
Museums and tourist boards at odds over cultural tourism
A new survey finds that one in three museums are unlikely to collaborate with tourism brands, and three quarters think a stronger…
Telling new stories around disability
Medical museums can be deeply offensive to disabled visitors. Richard Sandell introduces a radical project that replaced prejudice…
Four in ten organisations pay front of house less than Living Wage, survey finds
More than half of cultural organisations surveyed anticipate challenges meeting staff costs in the coming 12 months, and a similar…
Design Museum under pressure from anti-arms campaigners
The institution has rejected campaigners’ claims that it has “done nothing” a year after promising to reassess i…
Mayor steps in to plug V&A East funding gap
The GLA has agreed to underwrite a budget shortfall of up to £12m, which is expected despite a £9m a year boost in fun…
Major museums to compare visitor experiences with other leisure attractions
New research will compare data on areas such as cross-visitation and dwell-time at some of England’s largest cultural instit…
Drawing people in
Bristol Old Vic, England’s oldest theatre, is now also open as a visitor attraction and heritage destination. Emma Sten…
Letting youth lead the way
National Trust venues are engaging with new audiences by empowering young people to run events with local communities, says Hattie…
National museums’ fundraising income drops as major campaigns end
Tate, the British Museum and Imperial War Museums have all recently completed drives to gain support for large-scale capital work,…
Space to play and learn
With arts engagement known to play a key role in social mobility, Claudine Matthews calls for UK cultural institutions to take a c…
UK museums slip down worldwide top 20 visitor rankings
The number of visits to UK museums fell last year, while Asian museums increased attendance by 11%.
