'Decolonising' trustee blocked
Plus: five collectives shortlisted for Turner Prize
It’s just 10 days until museums and galleries in England and Wales can reopen. In 12 days, France’s museums can welcome visitors again, and just 3 days until those in Ireland can do the same. And venues in much of Italy, as you’ll see below, have been open since Monday. Europe’s museum lovers: we’re almost there!
This week I’ve been busy in the day job managing the media campaign for the British Museum’s upcoming exhibition Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint. It’s looking FAB and I was so pleased to have the Times run a big double-page spread on the show last weekend. You can read it here.
For now, happy reading of this week’s news!
All the content in this newsletter is provided to you for free. Why not buy me a digital coffee if you enjoyed it?
This week’s top story
The chair of trustees for Royal Museums Greenwich, one of England’s most prestigious national museum groups, has quit his role because the UK government refused to reappoint a trustee whose academic work advocates “decolonising” the curriculum. Sir Charles Dunstone, the billionaire founder of Carphone Warehouse, resigned as chair when the Secretary of State for Culture refused to reconsider his decision. Colleagues at RMG described the academic as a “devoted and conscientious” trustee, while he has said he was “shocked, disappointed and baffled” by the decision. The Independent
Why it matters
National museums are arm’s-length bodies - managed at arm’s-length from government - and are operationally independent, setting their own strategy and making their own curatorial decisions. Many believe that these important principles are at risk if the government continues to install allies to trustee boards, and blocks those with views that conflict with government policy. The Museums Journal already understands that at least one other board member at a national museum has had their appointment blocked by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in recent weeks. How many more could there/will there be?
This week’s other news
The V&A have given a major new lick of paint (and then some) to its Raphael Court, housing “some of the most significant Renaissance masterpieces in the UK.” The revamped Court will open to the public on 19 May. Reuters. (And they got a five star smash review in the Evening Standard.)
In a first for the Turner Prize, not a single individual artist has been shortlisted. Five collectives will instead battle it out for the prestigious accolade. Let’s just hope there’s not collective winners again this time. BBC News
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge continues to be a PR dream for the National Portrait Gallery (NPG). Their pandemic-focussed photography project, Hold Still, is now a book and a sneak-peek was offered this week ahead of today’s launch. It’s clearly worked - it’s hit number 1 on the Amazon UK best seller chart and it’s not often museum books reach such lofty heights. Daily Mirror
It’s been a very busy week for NPG, as they also opened their first ever exhibition in Korea. 78 iconic works from their collection - including portraits of William Shakespeare, Elizabeth I and er, Ed Sheeran - have made the trip, which takes place while the London Gallery is closed for 3 years for a major revamp. The i
The hokey-cokey of Italy’s museums rivals that of the UK. Visitors have been in, out, in, out due to the pandemic, but now they’re IN once more as the shutters were raised across the country. Crowds flocked to the Uffizi which has had a revamp since being closed; it’s Director said “There is a great thirst for culture.” That’s what it’s all about. The Art Newspaper
Meanwhile the Uffizi has also this week gone to war with influencers. They say they’ll require a fee for any bloggers or Instagrammers using the Gallery as a backdrop to make money for themselves. A spokesman said if they “want to pose for a picture in front of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus to sell jeans there is a price.” The Times
A Japanese town has sparked controversy after spending coronavirus emergency relief funds on… building a sculpture of a giant squid. Sky News
All the content in this newsletter is provided to you for free. Why not buy me a digital coffee if you enjoyed it?