Plymouth City Museum responds to call for cost-cutting sell off to raise funds for arts prize

By PRSD, on Monday, July 26, 2010

Plymouth City Museum has responded to Stuart Bonar’s call sell some of its collection to create a local arts prize his story Commodes, a Tutu and an Asparagus Holder – or a Local Arts Prize? Take it away guys…

Mr Bonar only received information relating to our works of art and not the human or natural history collections held at the museum, nor indeed the collections held in trust at the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. In addition, most of the beds and armchairs he mentions are actually on loan to us from the V&A and reside on display in the Elizabethan House on the Barbican.

In response to the specific issues he raises, all told we hold well over 2 million items. These objects, specimens, works of art and documents are primarily owned by the residents of Plymouth. To dispose of them, either by throwing or giving them away, involves work to review the collections, where possible track down original donors, consult with the city’s residents, the council and the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) as to whether we should be disposing of them.

To sell any of the collections would be quite a significant step to take. We adhere to standards and ethics set down by MLA and the Museums Association where we are expected to transfer, lend or destroy items rather than sell them to back-fill budget deficits or create new initiatives.

Those museums who feel the need to take such drastic steps suffer from de-accreditation by the MLA and subsequent loss of grant funding streams open to them from places such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, National Memorial Fund, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Preservation or Scientific & Industrial Materials Fund, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Clore Foundation, Art Fund, Arts Council… the list goes on). With almost 50 per cent of our funding coming from these sources it would be a false economy to look at selling collections as a way of saving money spent on running costs.

That said, we will be reviewing our collections in the future and we have recently been extremely lucky to be just one of six museums to receive Effective Collections funding from the Museums Association to review our 4,000 strong spirit preserved marine life collection. Any saving made will be, as Mr Bonar suggests, created through efficiencies of space.