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| Cultural figures oppose transfer of Bradford photography collection | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Artist David Hockney, film director Mike Leigh and photographer Don McCullin are among more than 80 leading cultural figures calling for the reversal of the decision to move part of the collection of Bradford’s National Media Museum (NMM) to London. | |
| Related: Opposition grows to Bradford photography collection move | Letters from Don McCullin, David Hockney, Martin Parr and others | Related: Opposition grows to Bradford photography collection move | Letters from Don McCullin, David Hockney, Martin Parr and others |
| In a letter published in the Guardian, 83 prominent figures in art, film and photography have said the transfer of more than 400,000 objects from the Bradford museum to a new “international photography resource centre” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington is a backward step. | |
| The move to relocate some of the museum’s holdings – the bulk of which is part of a Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection that charts the development of photography over 200 years – was announced in February, prompting accusations of “cultural vandalism”. | |
| The “sudden and largely secret” decision by the trustees of the museum to relinquish part of the photography collection is “a backward step in our understanding of the importance of visual culture”, the letter reads. | The “sudden and largely secret” decision by the trustees of the museum to relinquish part of the photography collection is “a backward step in our understanding of the importance of visual culture”, the letter reads. |
| “For its first decade, and for some years thereafter, the front doors of the museum announced that it was ‘about the art and science of photography’. | |
| “In that decade, when many leading photographers – from Britain and abroad – exhibited there, the museum attracted eight million visitors. At the time, this was more than any other museum outside London, and more than all but the big five in London.” | |
| Other signatories include Colin Ford, the first director of the NMM (or National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, as it was known before 2006); Sue Grayson Ford, founder of the Serpentine Gallery and former director of the Photographers’ Gallery, both in London; Simon Wallis, director of the Hepworth gallery in Wakefield; and Kathleen Soriano, former director of exhibitions at the Royal Academy. | Other signatories include Colin Ford, the first director of the NMM (or National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, as it was known before 2006); Sue Grayson Ford, founder of the Serpentine Gallery and former director of the Photographers’ Gallery, both in London; Simon Wallis, director of the Hepworth gallery in Wakefield; and Kathleen Soriano, former director of exhibitions at the Royal Academy. |
| Photographers Paul Graham, Martin Parr and Eamonn McCabe, and actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales also signed the letter. | Photographers Paul Graham, Martin Parr and Eamonn McCabe, and actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales also signed the letter. |
| The collection to be transferred will include 270,000 images, 26,000 books and periodicals, 10,000 items of archival materials and 6,000 pieces of camera equipment. | The collection to be transferred will include 270,000 images, 26,000 books and periodicals, 10,000 items of archival materials and 6,000 pieces of camera equipment. |
| “Moving the majority of the museum’s photography collection away from Yorkshire goes against government policy [in 1983] when the museum was opened – to put such facilities outside London – and against the present government’s claimed ‘northern powerhouse’ strategy,” reads the letter. | |
| “A number of us who have deposited our photographs in the museum did so specifically because we wanted our work to be preserved in the north.” | |
| Related: V&A to hold world’s largest collection on art of photography | Related: V&A to hold world’s largest collection on art of photography |
| The letter says many of those who had been involved in the founding and development of the museum would welcome the opportunity to try to solve “whatever problems are being encountered in retaining the collection in a national home for photography – preferably in the north of England”. | The letter says many of those who had been involved in the founding and development of the museum would welcome the opportunity to try to solve “whatever problems are being encountered in retaining the collection in a national home for photography – preferably in the north of England”. |
| The announcement that the collection would be moved prompted political leaders in Bradford to criticise the “great and the good in London” for pushing ahead without consulting anyone in the city. | The announcement that the collection would be moved prompted political leaders in Bradford to criticise the “great and the good in London” for pushing ahead without consulting anyone in the city. |
| “This is an appalling act of cultural vandalism,” said Simon Cooke, the Conservative leader on Bradford city council. “I know London is a big, grand and fantastic city but to denude my city of these photographs reminds us that you … care not one jot for our heritage and history. | “This is an appalling act of cultural vandalism,” said Simon Cooke, the Conservative leader on Bradford city council. “I know London is a big, grand and fantastic city but to denude my city of these photographs reminds us that you … care not one jot for our heritage and history. |
| “We don’t have much up here and it fills me with a kind of sad rage that you felt able to visit this act of cultural rape on my city.” | |
| The decision to transfer the collection to the V&A was discussed by NMM’s parent Science Museum Group’s trustees – none of whom have links to Bradford – nearly a year ago, according to minutes of a meeting seen by the Guardian. | The decision to transfer the collection to the V&A was discussed by NMM’s parent Science Museum Group’s trustees – none of whom have links to Bradford – nearly a year ago, according to minutes of a meeting seen by the Guardian. |
| According to the museum’s director, Jo Quinton-Tulloch, the relocation of the collection is part of a refocusing of the museum on “the science and culture of light and sound”, and away from art photography and film, in light of budgetary pressures. | |
| The Guardian understands that the museum’s trustees have discussed changing the museum’s name to Science Museum North. | |
| The museum also confirmed at the beginning of February that it would no longer run the Bradford international film festival, which had taken place in the city for more than 20 years. Bradford was designated Unesco’s first City of Film in the summer of 2009. | The museum also confirmed at the beginning of February that it would no longer run the Bradford international film festival, which had taken place in the city for more than 20 years. Bradford was designated Unesco’s first City of Film in the summer of 2009. |
| Related: Closing northern museums is an act of cultural pillage | Related: Closing northern museums is an act of cultural pillage |
| “These new proposals have consequences too great to be left to internal decisions within the Science Museum Group – as this appears to have been – then merely announced as a fait accompli,” reads the letter. | “These new proposals have consequences too great to be left to internal decisions within the Science Museum Group – as this appears to have been – then merely announced as a fait accompli,” reads the letter. |
| The letter’s signatories suggest the Science Museum Group explores other options, such as making the NMM independent or handing it over to the City of Bradford, which owns the building. “Photography in Britain unquestionably needs a national home and a national identity,” they add. | The letter’s signatories suggest the Science Museum Group explores other options, such as making the NMM independent or handing it over to the City of Bradford, which owns the building. “Photography in Britain unquestionably needs a national home and a national identity,” they add. |
| The Science Museum Group operates four museums: the Science Museum in London, the NMM in Bradford, the National Railway Museum in York and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. | The Science Museum Group operates four museums: the Science Museum in London, the NMM in Bradford, the National Railway Museum in York and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. |
| In June 2013, the group threatened to shut one of its north of England outposts in the face of a further 10% cut in funding, but had to climb down after protests and an intervention by minister Ed Vaizey. | In June 2013, the group threatened to shut one of its north of England outposts in the face of a further 10% cut in funding, but had to climb down after protests and an intervention by minister Ed Vaizey. |