Ed Vaizey launches my new opinion column
Former culture minister calls for the Parthenon Sculptures to be reunified in Athens
Hello.
I’m back in your inbox with a feature packed edition.
As revealed last week, I’m delighted to launch today a new opinion column in this newsletter. Every two weeks I’ll now bring you the 250 Take, where guest writers give me their views on the news and issues facing the world of museums, galleries, art and heritage — and all in no more than 250 words. It’ll offer a valuable snapshot of the latest thinking in these industries from the movers and shakers involved.
I’m thrilled to inaugurate the column with Lord Ed Vaizey, who pens you a piece welcoming the British Museum Chair George Osborne’s plans to find an agreement that’ll see the Parthenon Sculptures displayed in Athens. And let’s be fair, what could be a more topical issue than that right now.
Don’t fear, my regular Big Interview is here to stay too. With the festive season well and truly upon us, this week I take the opportunity to find out what the season brings for the only team in a visitor attraction which is not ‘winding down’ for the holidays. Matthew Hunt, Head of Commercial and Visitor Experience at the Courtauld Gallery gives me the lowdown.
Finally, in part II of my special edition Hot Lists, I ask more leading figures to recommend you their favourite art and culture books of the year. And with Christmas just 26 days away, it might help you find a stocking filler or two.
Now let’s dive in!
— maxwell
The 250 Take
In the inaugural edition of my new regular opinion column from guest writers, former UK culture minister Lord Vaizey argues — in 250 words — why British Museum Chair George Osborne is right to want to see the Parthenon Sculptures displayed again in Athens.
💬 Reunifying the Parthenon Sculptures would ‘breathe new life’ into the British Museum
“Last week, George Osborne, the Chair of the British Museum, proposed an agreement that would see the Parthenon Sculptures displayed in Athens. His "big, open and comprehensive offer” was made in the most public way possible — at the museum's annual dinner. It is welcome to see the politician in George remains very active.
The Parthenon Project, which I chair, has proposed a similar 'win-win' solution to Osborne's. Osborne’s vision, like ours, seeks to avoid ‘dismantling’ the British Museum’s collection, but rather proactively reimagines it as a modern museum of the world.
Our ambitious proposal, which allows the British Museum and Greece to ‘agree to disagree’ on ownership, would be underpinned by a cultural partnership that would see the Parthenon Sculptures returned and the British Museum showcasing other blockbuster Greek artefacts.
The biggest beneficiaries would be young people in the UK and Greece. A Foundation would provide a fundraising platform to support educational opportunities and other forms of international collaboration such as cultural exchanges, scholarships and much more. It could also see the British Museum’s Duveen Gallery transformed into a cutting-edge Hellenic Gallery — offering a fresh source of inspiration to the visiting public.
Cultural partnerships have already been embraced by other museums in the UK and have been beneficial in supporting programmes of conservation, curatorial exchange, and knowledge-sharing.
If the British Museum's 'reimagination' incorporates pragmatism and the potential of a cultural partnership, the Parthenon Sculptures could be reunified whilst new life is breathed into the leading museum of the world.”
— Ed Vaizey was UK culture minister from 2010 to 2016 and now sits in the House of Lords. Listen to his Times Radio show every Friday from 19:00.
If you’re connected to the world of museums, galleries, art and heritage and have a take that you could write in 250 words, get in touch with me at hello@maxwellmuseums.com
The Hot List
In part II of my Hot List special, I ask four more leading figures to recommend the art and culture books they most enjoyed in 2023 — with one final pick from me!
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📖 AN ATLAS OF ES DEVLIN by Es Devlin
Recommended by Nick Hornby, artist
“I think unequivocally it has to be Es Devlin’s new publication… it’s not so much a book but an entire universe in a physically beautiful object. It’s a comprehensive look at her mind-bending career. And I’d love to include a novel if I may: IN MEMORIAM by Alice Winn is simply the most moving book I have ever read. An agonising gay love story set in WWI. It’s brilliant to compare the indescribable abstraction of war with that of love…. and more precisely all the unspeakableness of war and same unspeakableness of illegal gay love at the time.”
📖 GRAYSON PERRY: SMASH HITS by Grayson Perry
Recommended by Helen Smout, Chief Executive of Culture Perth and Kinross
My art book of the year is Smash Hits written by Grayson Perry to accompany his largest ever exhibition which was held at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh earlier this year. It also features contributions from TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell. The book is vibrant, joyful and includes some new and never-before-seen work.
📖 STORIES FROM THE NERVE BIBLE: A RETROSPECTIVE 1972 — 1992 by Laurie Anderson
Recommended by Marja Sakari, Director of the Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki
“This is a book I bought in the 90’s. I saw the performance of the same name in 1994 at MoMA but the book came to life when I saw her wonderful retrospective at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm in August this year. Anderson has always been a free spirit, pursuing creativity in all its forms. Peaceful coexistence, the importance of language and respect for nature have always been at the heart of her practice. These values hold even greater significance today.”
📖 PAINTED TRAVELS: PORTRAITS OF REMARKABLE PLACES by SJ Axelby
Recommended by Ana Garcia, Marketing Manager at Leighton House
“I’ve been so excited about this new book by illustrator and colour fanatic SJ Axelby. Her innate passion for interiors paired with a love for travelling and storytelling have resulted in a curated collection of around 60 destinations she has visited or dreamt about, depicted with her vibrant signature watercolours. The book is extra special for me as Leighton House and Sambourne House are beautifully featured!”
📖 FRANS HALS by Bart Cornelis, Friso Lammertse, Justine Rinnooy Kan
Recommended by maxwell museums
“An exceptional exhibition is usually always accompanied by an exceptional catalogue, and this five-star survey of Frans Hals at the National Gallery is no different. Written by three curators from the institutions involved, it offers an illuminating insight into the talents of the Dutch artist and how he revolutionised portraiture. Featuring all the masterpieces of the exhibition, it allows you to dive into 17th Century Europe long after leaving the show.”
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Read part I of the best art books of 2023 here:
The Big Interview
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 🎶 Toys in every store…🎄
Like their High-Street and big-brand counterparts, Christmas is a big deal for cultural institutions, and it’s been a looking a lot like the festive season for the staff who run them for months now. Everything you see online and in-store in museum shops will have been planned since the height the summer, if not before.
But what actually goes into planning a festive retail offer in a museum or gallery? What are the priorities — and potential pitfalls? These are some of the questions I put to Matthew Hunt, Head of Commercial and Visitor Experience at the Courtauld Gallery in London. With a remit covering some of the most important but perhaps not-celebrated-enough aspects of a visitor attraction’s work, I also asked him about his team, how they work with the wider gallery, and what’s new role advising on commercial strategy.
I began by asking Matthew the most important question: is it really the most wonderful time of year?
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Hello Matthew. So, how a big deal is Christmas for the Courtauld?
Christmas is always a special time at the Courtauld and we like to go full out! We’ve redecorated the front of the shop to look like Samuel Courtauld’s living room at Christmas and it has given such a burst of energy into the space.
We recently took part in Museum Shop Sunday where a member of my team did a guided tour of the collection works which feature on our best-selling Christmas card, and we did a festive story-telling around the fireplace for children.
Last year in November, the physical shop made £52k net income, and this year we’ve achieved £65k, so we’re building year-on-year and seeing our hard work paying off.
What are the main priorities for you and the team in the lead up to Christmas?
There are so many, but the main three are: clear communication to our audiences of when the Christmas shipping cut offs are (and ensuring we can get online orders shipped out in time); ensuring we are ordering up on our key lines for the festive period so that visitors can get what they want but also that we don’t sell out (and so can maximise on potential income); and looking after the team. We are putting on extra staff over the period as to not overwork them and to ensure they stay fighting fit over the festive season.
What role does the online shop play in your Christmas strategy?
It plays such an important role across Christmas, as we now have such an international reach in our database. For November this year, we are 38% up on the previous year, which is a huge testament to the amount of work and innovation that we have put into it.
Anna Hardstaff, our E-Commerce Coordinator works incredibly hard to create captivating imagery to help sell our products for those who cannot come and visit the gallery and who have such a deep interest in Impressionism or the gallery brand itself.
We have recently activated international shipping for online too, which has been a huge task due to the new laws with Brexit, but it’s been such a rewarding task as we can now ship across the world.
What's flying off this shelves at the Courtauld this year?
Our Courtauld-branded Christmas cards are the bread and butter for the festive season. We have a large variety of cards which are taken from works in the collection. However, our best-selling card this year is the Christmas at the Courtauld, where we’ve sold 240 units, and it features a new illustration by artist Bertille de Lestrade. We also turned this image into a licensed Advent Calendar with the supplier Flame Tree Publishing and it’s being sold across the UK in WHSmiths, and also in the USA in Walmart!
How embedded is your department in the wider gallery? Is Commercial and Visitor Experience given the seat at the table it needs?
I am lucky to work across Commercial AND Visitor Experience, so my role stretches across the organisation and these have so many intersections with other internal departments. I get to have exposure across many areas which is great for my career development, especially being in such a large role at a relatively young age.
We do have a seat at the table, but it wasn’t an easy journey. The Commercial and Visitor Experience team were a totally new team for the re-opening of the gallery in 2021, so we didn’t have the organisational knowledge to lean on. And Director of Commercial and Visitor Experience, Jonathan Ping, was stood in a building site trying to create a beautiful ticketing area, shop and café (but didn’t he do well!).
I didn’t join as Head of the department until September 2022 (when all the hard-work was already done!), so there was a lot to learn and navigate, but with new ways of working, we are now thriving and going from strength to strength.
What makes a good museum shop?
It’s nothing without the people. I am incredibly lucky to have a very dedicated and passionate team who understand the importance of the commercial side of a gallery or museum. We trade as a separate Enterprise entity — much like other galleries and museums — so it’s incredibly important to be commercially astute throughout the year.
All that being said, I’m biased but I think we have the most beautiful shop at The Courtauld. We have an incredibly talented Senior Buyer and Range Planning Manager, Anna Balan, who curates the entire range, along with licensing specialist, Jo Matthews — not to mention our Visual Merchandiser, Jane LeBon who creates captivating and beautiful displays to help the products sell.
You launched Courtauld Lates this year. Tell us about that.
A passion project for me at first, as I was so keen to get a younger audience into the gallery after the 9-5 working day — it has really taken off!
We’ve done three lates so far and had over 1,700 people attend (which is great for a small gallery), and we’ve had really good feedback from those who have visited. People always ask about the next event. We’ve got to a place where we will have a Courtauld Late on the first Friday and last Friday in every exhibition run, so they will act as a launch party and closing party!
Everyone is welcome to join us at the next one on Friday 9 February for our Frank Auerbach late, for our new Charcoal Heads exhibition.
You've also recently joined the Postal Museum as a Non-Exec Director on their Commercial Trading Board. What's this role entail?
Yes, and very exciting too! Laura Wright, CEO of the Postal Museum, has created the Trading Board and I jumped at the chance to be a part of it. As a Non-Exec Director, our role is to advise on any commercial activity, and this stretches across retail, catering, events and some parts of visitor experience where there is crossover.
The Postal Museum opened just before the pandemic and was still finding its feet before being forced to close. There are plenty of challenges that all museums are facing post pandemic, but the Postal Museum finds itself in amongst a building site of new-build flats, which comes with its own challenges.
That being said, the passion in the team there is remarkable. Megan Fox, Retail Manager, is such a hardworking and driven individual who has just re-launched the museum’s online shop, and it looks FANTASTIC! It’s an exciting time.
Finally, what's the best thing about working at the Courtauld at Christmas?
It must be the people. I’m such a people person and my team are what makes it all worth it. They are so hard-working and caring. I’m really looking forward to Christmas Jumper day which happens to fall on the day of our team Christmas dinner which is where we’re also doing Secret Santa! (Last year I got a Harry Styles annual, and it goes down as one of my favourite gifts ever!)
— The Courtauld Shop is online here. The last order date for guaranteed Christmas delivery in the UK is 14 December (for international orders it’s 10 December).
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