A lot can go wrong in a museum that’s been shut down. Moths can get into textiles. A change in temperature or humidity can make mummies leak fluids.
Museums in the U.S., Canada and Australia have reported break-ins — a Van Gogh was stolen from a Dutch art museum in March after it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the biggest problem by far has been the drop in revenue from admissions, museum boutique sales and donations during the shutdown that is putting museums worldwide at risk of failure.
Canadian museums are reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown and need both emergency and permanent funding if they are to survive, according to a brief prepared for the federal government.
The budget submission from the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) recommends that the 2021 federal budget extend and increase emergency support to museums and that permanent funding be increased to at least $60 million a year.
The CMA says there are 2,700 museums, cultural heritage and science centres in the country, that together welcome an estimated 30 million visitors annually.
“Canada’s over 30-year old national museum policy is woefully out of date; funding levels for museums are at lower levels than they were in the 1970s; and our museums have been tremendously hard hit by the pandemic — some are likely to close their doors permanently as a result,” according to the brief.
It points to the fact that the federal museum funding program has been declining in value since being introduced in 1972. In 1977, funding reached its highest level — $15 million, equal to $63 million today, when adjusted for inflation.
It was $16.2 million in 2016-2017. A proposed review recently took a backseat to the pandemic.
Earlier this year, a pandemic emergency fund of $500 million was dedicated to culture, heritage and sport, with $53 million for museums.
While the CMA’s spokesperson, Rebecca MacKenzie, said the sector is grateful for the emergency funding it has received, it’s not enough.
“The proportion of the emergency fund allocated to museums is insufficient given the massive revenue losses museums are experiencing, which threaten their very existence,” she said.
She points to reports from UNESCO and International Council of Museums that suggest one in eight museums globally will not survive the pandemic. The American Alliance of Museums suggests one in three will close permanently.
Many museums in Canada have not been able to open this summer, MacKenzie said. Those that have reopened are dealing with decreased tourism. Spring and summer fundraising events have had to be cancelled.
There is concern that artefacts are at risk — MacKenzie said the CMA has received complaints from museum staff that some collections have been left in the hands of security staff instead of trained collections managers; that some borrowed collections had to be left with no security and that some collections had to be placed in atmospheric conditions that were less than favourable.
Another concern is the safety of collections under increased measures of sanitation — that cleaning agents could damage historical artefacts.
Recent CMA research found that Canada gains nearly $8.6 billion a year in economic benefits, in addition to a myriad of social advantages, from non-profit galleries, libraries, archives and museums.
“Arguably, museums would be in a better position to survive the pandemic with a more modern policy and adequate funding levels,” said MacKenzie.
The financial toll of the shutdown is beginning to show. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary announced in July it was laying off 27 staff. While the ROM has reopened to the public and recalled some staff — in particular those dealing with the public, only 11 collections staff are back at work, at 80 per cent, out of 33 technicians and conservators, according to OPSEU.
“Collections technicians, in particular, have been unable to care for our important collections and being separated from this work has led to them feeling deep concern for the state of the objects,” according to OPSEU, which has been advocating for collections staff to be brought back.
ROM spokesperson Katie Bailey said the museum hopes to see attendance levels rise through September as more areas and exhibitions are opened, allowing the museum to return to regular staffing levels.
Most museums around the world were closed in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent report from the International Council of Museums (ICM), which conducted a worldwide survey on the impact of the shutdown.
It estimates that one in 10 museums worldwide may be forced to close permanently.
