Art Fund's written response to David Lammy's PM interview
15th May 2006
Minister for Culture David Lammy appeared live on Radio 4's PM programme to respond to The Art Fund's research. A transcript of his interview follows with a written reply from The Art Fund.
Although the programme ran a recorded interview with David Barrie (read a transcript of David Barrie’s PM interview here) we were not able to respond live – so we have added some comments here;
David Lammy (DL): Well look – you can’t disagree with The Art Fund for wanting to see more money spent on securing our artistic heritage. But I certainly don’t recognise the picture that has been painted about museums. It’s important to remember that the Department for Culture Media and Sport has increased the money that we spend on museums by 42% since 1997
- [Yes, it’s great news that the government has put extra money into our museums since 1997 – but this has gone largely on capital projects and access and education programmes. There hasn’t been extra cash for collecting, which is the issue at stake. Our five national museums, for example, now spend 90% less from their government grants on collecting than they did 10 years ago.]
PM: Well it’s not enough though – they’re saying.
DL: It’s £300 million - it’s a lot of money. Its money that’s given us free entry to our national museums?
- [after a campaign by The Art Fund, which wrote the technical paper for government that made it possible]
... and I think your listeners will recognise when they visit their local museums, new buildings, better arrangements for how we exhibit many of the things in our museums, and they’ll see new acquisitions as well.
- [The trouble is, as our research shows, 70% of museums now rely mainly or solely on gifts for new acquisitions. They’re no longer looking actively to develop their collections. And when they do buy new works, they’re increasingly reliant on external sources of funding, such as The Art Fund – which was the main source of funding for acquisitions last year].
So yes we can all want more money but it’s important to remember that we’ve put more money in our museums.
PM: Of course everybody wants more money don’t they, and David Barrie will admit that. But he was saying that this is something that is really needed. That you have to listen to what they’re saying – you want access and social inclusion, and the museums and art galleries recognise that -they are trying to expand. But future vitality and the ability to deliver on such things take more money.
DL: Look – absolutely, and it’s important to remember that when they call for an acquisitions fund that what we would be doing is going back to a situation that was pre 1992.
- [We’re not calling for a new acquisitions fund. We’re calling on government to recognise the importance of collecting and to adequately fund this through the bodies which already exist.]
Now since that point we’ve got the Heritage Lottery Fund which has committed more than a billion pounds to museums and certainly £140 million to acquisitions.
- [We aren’t saying HLF hasn’t helped with acquisitions. We’re saying it’s helping far less: 10 years ago it spent £18 million, last year it spent £2.3 million – less than The Art Fund. In any case, Lottery money was supposed to be additional to public money, not a substitute for it.]
We’ve got the National Heritage Memorial Fund which is doubling to £10 million next year?
- [after much lobbying, and still 30% less than it had to spend back when it was set up in 1980. In the same period, art market prices for museum-quality works have risen by 413%],
and we’ve got museums in a healthier position raising money themselves, raising over £100 million in commercial activities. That’s the backdrop and that’s why you can see acquisitions flourishing and seeing things in our museums.
PM: I’ve got to stop you there – David Lammy, thank you very much.
Related Links
