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Hi Karen,
It’s very true that, as Jenni says, the sector is really struggling with the issue of admission charges, with lots of passionate practitioners looking for solutions. Many independent and local authority
museums have had such drastic cuts that they have faced closure, and so becoming free or very low cost is sadly not really an option for now.
However, I wouldn’t be too disheartened about the state of accessibility in the sector. Many local museums have systems like postcode-based discounts/free entry or affordable year-long memberships
to reduce the barrier to locals. There has also been much research suggesting that free entry encourages more repeat visits from “traditional” museum goers, rather than a greater diversity of visitors. In response to the cuts to the sector and the pressures
on communities, Gemmers and the wider sector have been doing some amazing work to tackle the more deep-seated barriers to inclusion. I really feel that, despite very valid concerns over pay entry, the conversation is more advanced than it has ever been and
the work in accessibility in the UK is really cutting edge. Co-production, sharing ownership, and designing for easy access are rapidly on the rise and more and more guidance is being produced for smaller museums to make manageable steps. The cuts have hit
the sector and audiences hard and your concerns are absolutely right! But I have been really inspired by how the sector has taken the current situation and used it to really scrutinise who we were engaging, who we were missing and how we can find lasting
solutions collaboratively. If you want to talk more about this, there are a number of case studies I could chat to you about, please don’t hesitate to ring the GEM office on 01634 853 424 or email me
[log in to unmask] anytime.
Thanks for getting in touch, I hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday, despite this disappointment!
Very best wishes,
Holly
Holly Bee
Education Officer,
GEM
www.gem.org.uk, +44 (0) 1634 853424
Visit the GEM website to find out about our training, networking and resources!
From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. <[log in to unmask]>
On Behalf Of Karen Lander
Sent: 22 October 2018 11:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Admission charges
Hello GEM
Sorry this is not really education related, but I wanted to see what people's thoughts were. I worked in museum education up until 2012 when I was made redundant due to cuts. I've lost touch a little with the
museum world since - my finger's not on the pulse any more apart from following activity on GEM. Anyway, I've noticed this year that museum admission charges are astronomical! I went on holiday to the Peak District and apart from the wonderful free Buxton
Museum and the Eyam Plague Museum, museums were charging £6+. I'm going on a day out to Bath tomorrow and again, apart from the Victoria Art Gallery most places seem to be around £10+!
I assume this is due to funding issues and the need to make money to keep going, pay staff and look after the collections. However, I find it really sad. We will visit the museum that we are most interested in
tomorrow as that is the point of our visit, and suck up the cost, but having a cultural day out, popping here and there, stumbling across somewhere you wouldn't have planned on visiting, or popping into your local museum for half an hour in your lunch break,
is now out of the question. Is the museum world discussing this and the issues of accessibility? I fear we are back to museums being exclusive places for the well off and not open and accessible places welcoming people from all walks of life. It feels like
all the work we were doing on accessibility 10-15 years ago has gone down the plughole, albeit at no fault of the museums themselves.
I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this from the inside as it were.
Thanks
Karen
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