At last! Visitor numbers rise
38% more visits to England's national museums in first half of 2023
Also in this edition: Turner Prize awarded, Grayson Perry is a smash, Wales’ treasures at risk, staff turmoil at Centre Pompidou, fake artists of Florence
Happy Friday.
I’ve never really been that much of a fan of the Turner Prize. I mean, it’s fine, who doesn’t love an award. And unsurprisingly my motto is the more exhibitions the merrier. But it’s always been a little a bit meh. (Well actually, it did start to become actively ridiculous when it recognised only collectives and when it awarded it jointly to every nominee.)
Thankfully, this year it was a straightforward competitive process with one winner — if you don’t know who won, see below. If you do know, then well done. Because the Turner of the 2020s struggles for real, proper, mass attention. And while there’s surely lots of value in this year’s Prize being presented by Tinie Tempah live on Instagram, you can’t help but think the fact the 2001 Prize was presented by Madonna live on Channel 4 demonstrates its decline in relevance. Perhaps its return to London next year should be an opportunity to return some A-List sparkle. That might be one way to make a few more people sit up and take notice.
I hope you’ll notice at the end of this edition some information on an exciting new conference for cultural digital professionals coming next year, curated by the team at Substrakt. I’m pleased to say that this is the first in an ongoing partnership with Substrakt to feature and promote the event over the coming weeks, and I’m delighted to be working with them. Please do click the link and support them — my sponsors and advertisers help me continue to produce this newsletter, and to keep it free to read.
Now onto the news!
— maxwell
Need To Know
Visitor numbers continue climb
The UK’s national museums and galleries are showing signs of a recovery in visitor numbers following the pandemic.
In the first half of this year (January to June) the British Museum saw a 48% rise in numbers compared with the same period last year — which marks just a 14% deficit on its visitor numbers for the first six months of 2019, pre-Covid. The V&A’s numbers were 41% up on 2022 (28% down on 2019) and Tate Modern was 55% up, just 19% below 2019.
The figures were released by the UK government and show that the total number of visits to England’s 15 national museums were 38% up on 2022 and now are just 23% below pre-pandemic levels. The Natural History Museum, the Royal Armouries and Sir John Soane’s Museum are all ahead of their 2019 figures. In a recent interview, the Director of the National Portrait Gallery Dr Nicholas Cullinan said they were heading for record visitor numbers following its major revamp which opened this summer.
Yet Tate Britain and the National Gallery continue to struggle. While the former saw 23% more visits this year on last, numbers are still half what they were in 2019. The National Gallery is equally 51% down on pre-Covid.
Meanwhile in Scotland (where national museums are devolved), National Museums Scotland welcomed 3.02 million people over the past 12 months, well over double its 2022 numbers. (Read more)
Turner Prize 2023 awarded
Jesse Darling has won the 2023 Turner Prize. His sculptures made up of faded union jack bunting and metal pedestrian barriers scooped the £25,000 accolade at a ceremony at the Towner gallery in Eastbourne.
Darling was commended by the jury for his “use of materials and commonplace objects” and that “his presentation unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power.” Darling says he already has plans for how he intends to spend the prize money: “I’ll get a new tooth put in, pay my rent and buy my friends a drink.”
Alastair Sooke in the Telegraph said that the jury “has done the right thing” in picking Darling, while Adrian Searle in the Guardian hailed him as “a worthy Turner prize winner.”
The Prize will return to Tate Britain in London next year for the first time since 2018. (Read more)
Science Museum ethics revelation
The Times this week reported that the Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, Sir Ian Blatchford, will no longer be involved in reviewing the ethics of its sponsorship deals as it emerged he did not pass on to trustees a due diligence report into a controversial major sponsor.
Documents released to the pressure group Culture Unstained show that after receiving an internal due diligence report on the Adani Group — which contained details of criminal allegations and environmental legislation breaches — a further report on Adani Green Energy (AGE) was requested by the museum’s officials.
According to the Times, this second, relatively clean report was then shared with the trustees, and AGE was then announced as the multimillion-pound sponsor of its new Energy Revolution gallery which is due to open next year.
This move, according to the paper, has resulted in the museum’s board making moves “to distance Blatchford’s office from future ethical decisions.” The Science Museum Group dispute this, telling the Times it had made these moves as a “strengthening of our governance.” (Read more)
News from the UK
Fetch the buckets | Priceless artworks in the Welsh national collection are at a high risk of damage due to a leaky roof, and staff have been told to be on alert when it rains, even in the middle of the night. The chief executive of Museum Wales said they need £25 million to fix the roof at National Museum Cardiff. “The future of that building is of great concern” Jane Richardson warned the Welsh government. (Read more)
Grayson’s great showing | Grayson Perry: Smash Hits was, er, a smash hit! The huge retrospective attracted nearly 96,000 visitors during its four month run at the National (Royal Scottish Academy). It made it the National Galleries of Scotland’s biggest show in a decade and fourth biggest in twenty years. Perry has now said: "It was one of the most enjoyable and proud exhibiting experiences of my career.” (Read more)
Revamp revealed | Walthamstow’s 18th century Vestry House Museum has given just two weeks notice that’s it’s going to shut for over two years. It’ll close on 23 December, but at least it’s for a good reason: it’ll undergo a £4.5 million revitalisation project. The cash comes from the government’s Levelling Up fund and will see improved access and new workspaces. (Read more)
Not awkward at all! | In ‘hindsight’s a wonderful thing’ news, the Director of the Garden Museum welcomed HM the Queen to open their latest exhibition today, only to offer a speech on unhappy families. The royal visit came in the wake of Omid Scobie’s controversial new book on the Royal Family and the ongoing rift with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Christopher Woodward afterwards stressed it was not a reference to recent royal news stories, but about drawing attention to the museum’s ability to be an oasis. (Read more)
Unearthed by amateurs | A long-lost royal Tudor palace has been rediscovered by a group of amateur historians in a Northamptonshire village. The 500-year-old mansion complex was found by the local enthusiast group after they embarked on their own extensive research and fundraising. Excavations began in 2018 but it’s only now been confirmed to be the lost palace which fell into disrepair in the 17th century. (Read more)
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News from around the world
France 🇫🇷 | There’s staff turmoil at the Centre Pompidou ahead of its planned five year closure for refurbishment. The €262m renovation will see the museum shut in 2025, but staff have been staging multiple strikes over job loss fears, which has resulted in eight days of closure since October. A Pompidou spokesperson tells The Art Newspaper that “all employees will be maintained and recover their posts or an equivalent at the reopening”. (Read more)
Italy 🇮🇹 | Italy’s less-famous-but-more-leaning ‘leaning tower’ has been sealed off as it’s at risk of collapse. The medieval Garisenda tower in Bologna will be innaccessible while plans to save it are progressed. But the city’s mayor has said he expects it will take at least a decade to complete repair work, at a cost of €20m. Work to reinforce it and it’s taller next-door neighbour has already been ongoing since the 1990s. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸 | 44 works of ancient art from the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts are to be repatriated to Italy, Egypt and Turkey after an investigation found they had been looted. The museum said that most of the pieces had been stolen as part of “an international criminal conspiracy involving antiquities traffickers, smugglers and art dealers” in the twentieth century. One was taken from an Italian museum. (Read more)
France 🇫🇷 | Today marks exactly one year until the fire ravaged Notre Dame cathedral reopens its doors to the public after restoration. President Macron visited today and donned a hard hat to ascend the new spire, and pledged that it will reopen on schedule — and all within his at-the-time optimistic five-year timeframe. Macron also announced a new contest to replace six stained glass windows with contemporary designs. (Read more)
Best of the rest
Colour me peachy | The Colour of the Year has been announced — and it’s Peach Fuzz. According to Pantone, the hue signals tactility, comfort, and warmth. Ultrafabrics will be taking the colour on a global tour in 2024. (More)
School’s IN for summer| An important milestone has been achieved by V&A Dundee — they’ve managed to get every school in the city to visit this year. “It’s great” the press release said, FIVE times. (More)
Hope springs eternal | There are "positive signs" the Sycamore Gap tree could live on through new descendants grown from seeds and cuttings from the felled landmark. But the National Trust warn it will still take three years to be sure. (More)
Tom to infinity… | David Hockney at the Lightroom in London has been replaced with Tom Hanks. The Oscar winner has just opened an epic space documentary at the immersive experience. (More)
Watch out! | Fake artists are scamming tourists in Florence — but a travel TikToker reveals how to avoid these ‘street art hustlers.’ (More)
Digital Works Conference | Calling cultural digital professionals! Turbo-charge your talents with this new two-day conference by Substrakt, and learn from global industry leaders on how to tackle the digital trends and challenges of 2024 and beyond. (Find out more)*