ArtTactic

Arts funding in the UK relies on three key sources; state subsidy, commercial revenue and philanthropic support. For the fourteen national museums in the UK, all of which are in England, public investment generally accounts for 30% to 40% of museum income, with the number often standing closer to 30% for the largest institutions. This balance of funding for museums in the UK has, however, come increasingly under threat in recent years, as indicated by a recent ArtFund report which found that two-thirds of museum directors are concerned about funding shortfalls, up from half in 2022.

These concerns are not exclusive to the fourteen national museums; they are shared by council-funded local-authority institutions and independently funded museums alike. So far in 2024, at least ten councils have already issued section 114 notices to declare council bankruptcy while, simultaneously, central government grants to local government have fallen by over 50%. This is particularly concerning given that funding shortfalls tend to have the greatest and most immediate impact on local-authority museums which, incidentally, also tend to have the most significant cultural impact on local communities.

The question remains, therefore, that if public investment continues to dwindle, how might public museums respond and what might this mean for the sector? An increased reliance on corporate sponsorship for publicly subsidised institutions can have major reputational and ethical challenges. This has been reflected by recent Big Pharma and Big Oil funding criticisms faced by many major arts institutions in the UK, not least the British Museum’s acceptance at the end of 2023 of a ten-year, £50m BP sponsorship deal. Although one trustee of the Museum resigned in response to the sponsorship deal, it is increasingly easy to see why the museum accepted the deal, which will be used to fund a major renovation project, in the face of dwindling state subsidies.

In a challenging parallel for the sector, the arts continue to fall in the list of priorities for charitable giving among younger generations of philanthropists. This trend can certainly be correlated with the lack of government support for arts education over recent decades, despite the economic power of the creative industries, which generated around £126bn for the UK economy in 2022. After all, it seems difficult to consider why a potential donor might give to an institution if they’ve never felt the aesthetic, spiritual or political impact of a museum themselves.

The reparative role of museums in society has never been as important as it is today and, as museums are forced to reconsider their operational models, it remains crucial that institutions continue to prioritise what might be termed a ‘triple bottom-line’ accounting approach to consider integrated social, environmental and financial performances. Institutions must continue to focus on the quality, as opposed to quantity, of public engagement to help build a future where museums aren’t forced to justify meaningful public subsidy, but are instead valued as vital spaces of education, inspiration and joy.