Britain’s Museums and Galleries Facing Threat From Covid-19

BRITAIN’S museums, galleries, and historic houses are facing an ‘existential’ threat due to low visitor numbers and financial strains incurred by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent survey carried out by Art Fund found that 60% of institutions felt that their existence threatened while just half reported receiving emergency funding. The cultural charity’s director, Jenny Waldman, said the future of many premises was ‘incredibly bleak’ as the year of the pandemic had been ‘pretty disastrous’.

She explained that many institutions were ‘heavily reliant on local funding’ which had largely run dry due to the economic fallout of Covid-19. Art Fund has launched the ‘Together for Museums’ campaign, which has so far reached a quarter of its £1 million target to help museums reach new audiences and innovate to aid their survival.

The charity has also introduced the ‘#ShopMuseums’ initiative to encourage people to buy from online shops of galleries and museums. The Royal College of Physicians recently considered selling £6 million worth of its rare book collection to compensate a funding deficit, which met opposition from hundreds of its members.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Britain’s Museums and Galleries Facing Threat From Covid-19”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news, and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.