UK museums and galleries are “victims of their own success” and failing to keep up with their European counterparts post-pandemic, according to one industry insider.
New statistics from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) showed visits to the museums and galleries it supports were up 8% on last year, but are still at 84% of their pre-Covid footfall.
A separate survey by the Arts Newspaper found visitor numbers at some of the world’s most famous museums have already returned to pre-pandemic levels with Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum attracting 2.7 million visitors, the same as in 2019, while numbers at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris were up 6% on 2019 to 3.9 million and the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence was up 15%, to 2.7 million.
In comparison, it found the British Museum had 5.8 million visitors (7% down on 2019) and the National Gallery received 3.1 million visitors in 2023, a fall of 2.9 million from 2019, though its Sainsbury Wing was closed throughout 2023.
Benji Wiedemann, co-founder of brand consultancy Wiedemann Lampe, which worked with institutions including the Natural History Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Fine Arts Museums San Francisco, said: “New research shows cultural institutions in the UK are – on average – failing to recover post-Covid as quickly as their European and American counterparts.
“Why? In a way, these museums are victims of their own success. While they have an acute awareness of the current cultural zeitgeist, we’re not always seeing this knowledge tangibly translated into the public eye – where it really matters.
“Overly complex processes combined with long lead times to produce considered and thorough projects, means their good intent is not shown to the world until months, or even years, down the line.”
He said the museums had to prove their “cultural relevance, here and now” to gain new audiences, adding: “By tapping into moments of cultural importance happening today, our museums can reclaim their rightful place as dynamic and exciting places to be.”
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said it was “fantastic” to see visitor numbers “continuing to rise after a challenging few years as a result of the pandemic”.
She said: “Thanks to our strong backing for the sector to recover from COVID and our extension of tax reliefs in the recent Spring Budget, the sector is continuing to thrive and offering fantastic days out for the public, often for no cost.“This resurgence is testament to the innovation and dynamism of our world-class museums and galleries, which are finding new and exciting ways to engage with the public.”
