A leading figure in a major arts charity has warned London’s museums and galleries face an “existential crisis” in coming months as they attempt to recover from months of closure.
Sarah Philp, the Art Fund’s director of programmes and policy, revealed the findings of a new study which found 85 percent of museum and gallery directors are concerned about attracting visitors back following lockdown.
The research, drawn from over 400 responses, also suggests almost three-quarters of staff at independent museums and galleries fear they could shut.
Ms Philp said: “The existential crisis is two fold – are they able to exist and if they are, what is a gallery or a museum and what is its purpose moving forward?”
She added many institutions faced the challenge of how to ensure visitor safety once they do open, and how to generate enough revenue with reduced visitor numbers.
She said: “Many directors are worried about whether people will want to come back. There are concerns about managing people safely when they do come back – but many also want to keep displays engaging and creative and interactive, and that is a challenge with social distancing.
“Then there is the cost. One director told me it was as expensive to open for 200 people as it was for 2,000. But their business plans are based on opening for 2,000 people. Many work on tight margins and rely on ticket sales.
“There is a perception that you just close the doors and put the dust sheets over the exhibitions and then when everything is ok again you open the doors. But there are still costs, overheads, collection care.”
She predicted there could be high-profile closures in coming months.
“As a sector, we are all very worried,” she said. “There will be casualties. The Arts Council has moved quickly to ensure emergency funding and we are doing all we can to support them. But we don’t really know what the full impact will be yet.”
