Thursday 1 April 2021
In the government’s four-step roadmap to remove lockdown restrictions, museums in England can reopen on Monday 17 May. So while shops and libraries can open from Monday 12 April, we’ll have to wait another month after that until we can return to our favourite collections and explore new exhibitions for the first time. In Scotland, Monday 26 April is the opening date, while Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to announce one.
It’s been a sobering time for our cultural institutions. According to a survey by
The Art Newspaper, last year visitor numbers at the world’s top 100 museums and art galleries were, unsurprisingly, down 77 per cent from 2019. Which means revenues have plummeted, staff have taken redundancy and exhibition budgets have been cut, despite financial assistance from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund. It may take several years for them to recover, and some may be forced to close their doors permanently. So when museums can reopen, we should all support them as much as we can – booking tickets, meeting friends there, and spending a little more time in the gift shop than usual.