A report just published by Museum Freelance - the organisation that represents freelancers and consultants working in the museum, gallery, archive and heritage sectors - outlines the ‘devastating impact’ of the Covid pandemic on freelancers. Nearly 80% of museum and heritage freelancers responding to the survey stated that their income fell between March and October. More than half of the respondents have had one or more projects or contracts cancelled, whilst many more have had projects or contracts postponed. However, less than half have been able to access the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), with many having to find alternative sources of income, such as savings, borrowing or receiving a grant. Consequently, the pandemic has had a ‘detrimental impact’ on the mental health of freelancers, with many reporting feelings of stress, anxiety and isolation. As the report notes, freelancing has always been precarious, but the scale, severity and sustained nature of the issues being faced this year are extraordinary. 

To access the full report:
​ https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b448e3b2487fd5fcddd3bbd/t/5fc7605a8f0796361579c25e/1606901851015/Impact+of+Covid-19+on+freelancers+-+Poll+results,+December+2020.pdf

The government has said that museums and galleries in England can open from 4 July provided that safety measures are implemented. Guidance developed by the National Museum Directors’ Council  sets out nine considerations that need to be in place before re-opening to support the safety of staff and visitors. They have also created a suggested timeline to help museums plan their re-opening. 

https://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/coronavirus-update/nmdc-good-practice-guidelines-opening-museums/

National museums in London have said that they are phasing their opening, but should all be open over the summer. But, how many smaller museums and galleries will be able to meet the requirements of social distancing...? As I’ve already reported, many well-known smaller venues have already announced that they are struggling. The Museums Association says that substantial financial aid is still needed to help the sector, but will the government see the necessity?

The National Archives has also produced guidelines to help archives plan for re-opening that include links to a checklist and risk management template:  

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/our-archives-sector-role/coronavirus-update/making-plans-for-re-opening/
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But it is very odd that archives and libraries are still scheduled to be closed when shops, often far smaller spaces, are allowed to open and some archives already operate a booking system, so why not extend that? Most archive staff that I know have not been furloughed and there has to come a point where they simply have no more work that they can do from home. The benefits of access to libraries, museums and archives are well-documented so, for everyone’s well-being – staff, visitors and users – let’s see them re-opened sooner rather than later. 

A new report predicts that the creative industries sector will be hit twice as hard as the economy in general as a result of Covid-19. In the report, Oxford Economics forecasts the loss of 119,000 permanent posts and 287,000 freelance roles by the end of 2020. The focus on museums and galleries specifically suggests that £743 million in revenue and 4,000 jobs (representing 5% of the total) could be lost. These shocking statistics are reflected in film, TV, radio and theatre, which will also suffer huge losses.

Link to the report: https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/publications/report-projected-economic-impact-covid-19-uk-creative-industries

A government taskforce is being set up to help reopen the cultural sector in England. Overseen by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and chaired by a DCMS minister, its responsibilities will include tourism, culture and heritage, libraries, entertainment and sport. The group will be one of five official taskforces helping develop new “Covid-19 secure” guidelines specific to different parts of the economy. The other taskforces will oversee pubs and restaurants, non-essential retail, places of worship and international aviation. Separate sectoral sub-groups will be set up under each taskforce to examine issues specific to that sector. A museums and galleries working group is being set up by the recreation and leisure taskforce. It will work with the museum sector on the possible reopening of institutions in England in stage three of the UK government’s plan for lifting lockdown restrictions. The earliest this could take place is 4 July.

The Cultural Renewal Taskforce panel will be led by Neil Mendoza, the architect of the 2017 Mendoza Review of Museums in England. The other members are:

• Mark Cornell, Ambassador theatre Group
• Lord Grade, former chair of the BBC and ITV
• Baroness Lane-Fox, founder of LastMinute.com
• Edward Mellors, Mellors Group Events
• Tamara Rojo, English national Ballet
• Alex Scott, sports broadcaster
• Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England

Part of Mendoza’s brief will be to collaborate with Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England and other sectoral bodies to develop and deliver a strategy fit to support organisations large and small. The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden also announced £200 million in new funding which will be made available for small charities “that are at the heart of their communities”, but without any specific detail on how much of this – if any – would be available for cultural organisations.

The Welsh and Northern Irish governments have published recovery plans where open-air museums will open before other institutions. Museums Galleries Scotland is working with the Scottish government on plans to reopen the museum sector.

​Whilst this all sounds very heartening, let’s hope that it’s not too little or too late to help British culture and heritage to rebound from the damaging impacts of the coronavirus lockdown.  

​During the current lockdown I am enjoying the peace and tranquillity of my garden, being able to hear the birdsong and the bees buzzing contentedly amongst the flowers, without the sound of distant traffic. The skies are blue and the air is clear as pollution levels have dropped. Stress levels have fallen away too in this slower-paced lifestyle. I almost wish it could stay like this, but I am missing access to museums and galleries and the opportunity to travel. Let’s hope that these ways of living will continue to influence the way in which we live our lives in the future, with patience, tolerance, thoughtfulness and support for others, all at a slower pace than before. 

​This was the stark headline of an article in The Times yesterday (1 May) by its arts correspondent, Richard Morrison. Without the influx of foreign visitors the national museums will suffer. University museums will face funding losses as international students fail to enrol. Many museums and galleries are facing the possibility of permanent closure because of the Coronavirus pandemic and not just the smaller ones: the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth and the Postal Museum in London have already signalled their imminent insolvency. Moreover, the culture secretary seems to be more interested in getting top-level football played again rather than opening any aspect of the arts. As Morrison states, if it’s deemed acceptable for footballers to stand side-by-side in a defensive wall, why shouldn’t dancers be allowed to perform? If we’re allowed to visit supermarkets, why can’t social distancing be applied to our cultural assets? Museums and galleries will need to be creative in what they offer and how they make it available to us. So we must all do our bit to support our cultural heritage once re-opening starts. After all, with the drop in foreign visitors, social distancing will be easier to impose and we’ll be able to enjoy some of our best loved sites without huge crowds. But, above all, we need to lobby government to provide financial support for the hard-pressed smaller museums and galleries that simply may not survive this crisis otherwise.  

Restaurant menus are “curated”, fashion shows are “curated”, playlists are “curated”. So, when everything is “curated,” what does the word even mean? The term has become a fashionable buzzword, but its ubiquity has left it almost devoid of meaning. It is used to suggest reassurance, implying that the thing curated is meaningful yet, mostly, its use in these contexts is meaningless. Even worse, is use of the phrase “carefully curated”, which is tautological.

The origins of “curate” lie in the Latin word “curare”, meaning “to take care of”, which is what traditional users of the term, in museums and galleries, have done for a very long time. But, the idea of curators as creative agents in their own right is new, signified by the move from vocational work to independent and critical engagement and reflected in the move in recent years by museums to credit the curators of their exhibitions. According to Hans-Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of Serpentine Galleries in London “The current vogue for the idea of curating comes from the proliferation and reproduction of ideas, processed information and images in the digital age [and that] this contemporary resonance risks producing a kind of bubble where the word in itself loses meaning.”

For me this has parallels with the archive sector and the hijacking of the terms “archivist” and “archiving”, initially by IT, but now used in a wider context to simply mean collection or storage, and not just of documents, whereas the classic definition is of records selected for permanent preservation for their historical and informational value. With the dilution in meaning and value of this professional terminology, what then can those working in the arts and heritage sector use to reflect their skills and training?
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Inspired by an article - “These days, everyone’s a curator” - in The New York Times, 3 March 2020. 

A 12-week old Weimaraner puppy is the latest addition to Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ Protective Services Team. Riley is part of a pilot programme. After a year’s training, his job will be to sniff out pests, such as moths and beetles that may be lurking in works made from organic materials like wool, silk and cotton. Weimaraners are highly intelligent, with an incredible sense of smell, and have the stamina to work long hours. 

​When Charles II ascended the throne in 1660 he wasted no time in amassing a formidable art collection which, whilst not as celebrated as that of his father, Charles I, nevertheless included works by Bruegel, Leonardo da Vinci and Titian. He also commissioned a portrait of himself that is almost three metres high. The work, by John Michael Wright, is almost three metres high and depicts the king in parliamentary robes and the newly created regalia, displaying the return of regal power. The portraits and other works from Charles’ collection feature in an exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery that runs until 13 May 2018 and provide a counterpoint to the larger exhibition of Charles I’s works at the Royal Academy.