"This government sees funding for museums as a luxury"
Ammar Kalia examines the measures regional museums are taking in the face of funding cuts that are leaving them on the 'cliff edge'.
Austerity cuts imposed by central government have caused a “crisis” in England’s cultural sector outside London with regional museums increasingly opening part-time and cutting staff.
Many cash-strapped local authorities choose to fund social care and other life-or-death services instead of their arts and cultural offerings, “hollowing out the sector”, the Museums Association has said.
Some 14% of local authority museums and 19% of independent former local authority institutions have reduced their opening hours in the past year, while 61% of local authority museums charge admission to cover their shortfall, according to the Museums Association’s 2018 report.
Overall, English council spending on culture has fallen by almost £400m over the last eight years and in shire councils culture budgets have fallen by 33%, according to the latest County Councils Network spending review... Keep reading on The Guardian
Austerity cuts imposed by central government have caused a “crisis” in England’s cultural sector outside London with regional museums increasingly opening part-time and cutting staff.
Many cash-strapped local authorities choose to fund social care and other life-or-death services instead of their arts and cultural offerings, “hollowing out the sector”, the Museums Association has said.
Some 14% of local authority museums and 19% of independent former local authority institutions have reduced their opening hours in the past year, while 61% of local authority museums charge admission to cover their shortfall, according to the Museums Association’s 2018 report.
Overall, English council spending on culture has fallen by almost £400m over the last eight years and in shire councils culture budgets have fallen by 33%, according to the latest County Councils Network spending review... Keep reading on The Guardian