Nicholas Penny
Worries that have reached my ears from within museums, and from fellow members of the public who are most keen to visit them, relate to the current exhibition programme. Such worries reflect the pre-eminence of exhibitions in the experience of art today. Exhibitions are what critics are waiting for, what curators are most likely to be working on, and what most occupies the registrar, the press office, the shop, the restaurant and the development team. Exhibitions are what the trustees notice most. The success of a director is most commonly measured by their popularity. Moreover, exhibitions are crucial for supporters and, of course, for sponsors. To yearn, as I often do, for the time when the primary focus of a museum was its permanent collection is as futile as lamenting our dependence upon the family car. The future lies with a different type of exhibition, just as it will involve a different type of car.