Three in five small museums and galleries in the UK fear closure amid declining revenue and footfall, new research claims.
The survey of 40 small, independent attractions – those with fewer than 100,000 annual visitors – also found that four in five (78%) reported the current period as the most challenging the sector has faced, while over half (58%) said overall income has not returned to its pre-Covid levels.
The research, conducted by the cloud platform GoDaddy in partnership with the charity Kids in Museums, surveyed small museums as well as galleries, historic buildings and heritage sites. Alison Bowyers, the executive director of Kids in Museums, said: “In the UK, the overall trend has been for a slower recovery in museum visitor numbers post pandemic than in other European countries. In 2023, a number of European countries including France, Spain, the Netherlands and Iceland saw record numbers of museum visitors.
“In England, research shows that overall visitor numbers are still 8% lower than pre-pandemic levels. The smallest museums and museums outside London, particularly in the North and Midlands, are the furthest away from achieving pre-pandemic numbers.”
Ms Bowyers said financial strain on households and the cost of visiting a museum, even if admission is free, have become the most significant barrier to visits in the past few years.
“The cost-of-living crisis hit the UK more severely than other European nations and was spread more unequally, with those on the lowest incomes hit the hardest,” she said. “The impact of the cost of living crisis also caused a significant decline in school trips to museums.
“The collision of the pandemic, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis came after a decade of underinvestment in UK museums. While some European governments also cut costs, the overall level of public investment in culture in Europe remained significantly higher.”