National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC), which represents the leaders of the UK's national collections and major regional museums, issued a joint letter in October last year calling for an end to protests targeting notable artworks which they say have caused enormous stress for colleagues and visitors who no longer feel safe.
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Gareth Davies MS, has argued that the additional security measures implemented at museums such as protective plastic barriers and screening visitors for liquids, creates additional challenges for museums to ensure the safety of their collections which adds to their financial burden.
His comments follow the closure of the National Museum in Cardiff last weekend due to a mechanical fault. The National Museum in Cardiff has significant maintenance issues and the Welsh Government provided an additional £3.2 million last year to “protect and preserve” cultural institutions including the National Museum. According to Kate Ede, Chair of Amgueddfa Cymru, however, the National Museum in Cardiff alone requires an estimated £25 million for urgent repairs. Mr Davies has called on the Welsh Government to provide more financial support and guidance to ensure the safety of museum collections from acts of protest vandalism.
Commenting, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism, Sport and North Wales, Gareth Davies MS said:
“In light of the recent closure of the National Museum in Cardiff for maintenance, there needs to be greater recognition of the growing financial pressures being placed upon Welsh museums to protect the safety of their collections.
“You can’t put a price on the preservation of our national heritage, and cash strapped museums are having to find money to maintain crumbling buildings and implement additional security measures to mitigate the risk to collections posed by environmental protesters.
“Culture spending in Wales in one of the lowest in Europe so the Welsh Government needs to work with Amgueddfa to ensure they are properly resourced to handle rising financial pressures stemming from maintenance of buildings and security concerns.”
