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| What’s happening at the National Media Museum isn’t vandalism. It’s a fresh start | What’s happening at the National Media Museum isn’t vandalism. It’s a fresh start |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The planned move of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum has generated much heated comment and soul-searching about the north-south divide. Yet the novelist JB Priestley, of whom there is a striking statue outside the National Media Museum, remarked that he had “always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start” and that is precisely what is now dawning at the museum. | The planned move of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum has generated much heated comment and soul-searching about the north-south divide. Yet the novelist JB Priestley, of whom there is a striking statue outside the National Media Museum, remarked that he had “always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start” and that is precisely what is now dawning at the museum. |
| The tale of loss, even of cultural vandalism, being put about by some is simply wrong. The Science Museum Group’s trustees have thought hard about the future of the National Media Museum, and the real story is of a museum rooted in its community with vibrant plans and a photographic collection that will still include three million images: a story of confidence and ambition. | The tale of loss, even of cultural vandalism, being put about by some is simply wrong. The Science Museum Group’s trustees have thought hard about the future of the National Media Museum, and the real story is of a museum rooted in its community with vibrant plans and a photographic collection that will still include three million images: a story of confidence and ambition. |
| With four museums north of Liverpool, our group has the most northerly centre of gravity of all the national museum groups. We founded the world’s greatest railway museum in York, created a national museum in Bradford, rescued the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester when its future was in doubt, and worked with Durham county council to create a railway museum in Shildon. | With four museums north of Liverpool, our group has the most northerly centre of gravity of all the national museum groups. We founded the world’s greatest railway museum in York, created a national museum in Bradford, rescued the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester when its future was in doubt, and worked with Durham county council to create a railway museum in Shildon. |
| Related: John Whittingdale refuses to stop Bradford photo collection move | |
| Of our museums, the National Media Museum has been the past year’s star performer, with audiences up 11%. So why has it broken a pattern of decline? It’s all about Stem – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and a new focus on the science of light, image and sound. The increased focus on science is already working and reconnecting the museum to the communities closest to it – the children, students and families of Bradford and West Yorkshire. | Of our museums, the National Media Museum has been the past year’s star performer, with audiences up 11%. So why has it broken a pattern of decline? It’s all about Stem – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and a new focus on the science of light, image and sound. The increased focus on science is already working and reconnecting the museum to the communities closest to it – the children, students and families of Bradford and West Yorkshire. |
| This fresh emphasis received strong backing from key partners in the town: the University of Bradford, Bradford College and, crucially, Bradford metropolitan district council, which is investing £1m in the museum specifically for science education. The 2015 summer exhibition Light Fantastic offered a tantalising picture of the potential of Bradford’s premier cultural attraction, with impressive visitor numbers and a compelling new take on physics. Just last month the partnership with Horrible Science brought nearly 30,000 visitors to the museum in nine days. | This fresh emphasis received strong backing from key partners in the town: the University of Bradford, Bradford College and, crucially, Bradford metropolitan district council, which is investing £1m in the museum specifically for science education. The 2015 summer exhibition Light Fantastic offered a tantalising picture of the potential of Bradford’s premier cultural attraction, with impressive visitor numbers and a compelling new take on physics. Just last month the partnership with Horrible Science brought nearly 30,000 visitors to the museum in nine days. |
| Our minds and money should be devoted to building on this success. That is why the move of the Royal Photographic Society collection – about 10% of the museum’s photography collections – to the V&A Museum makes sense. This collection contains delicate negatives and prints which must be kept in carefully controlled conditions. Its many archive boxes have scant connections with the region and were visited by fewer than 500 researchers last year. The collection is great, but in the past decade or so we have not been able to do it justice. | Our minds and money should be devoted to building on this success. That is why the move of the Royal Photographic Society collection – about 10% of the museum’s photography collections – to the V&A Museum makes sense. This collection contains delicate negatives and prints which must be kept in carefully controlled conditions. Its many archive boxes have scant connections with the region and were visited by fewer than 500 researchers last year. The collection is great, but in the past decade or so we have not been able to do it justice. |
| We could have opted for a quiet life but instead dared to ask: is there a better home for this collection? We looked for somewhere with significant resources, expertise and reach, both nationally and internationally. The V&A has fantastic plans to create an international photography centre. The collection will be digitised and accessible in the museum’s study rooms, which were visited by 35,000 people last year, and will join their programme of national tours. | We could have opted for a quiet life but instead dared to ask: is there a better home for this collection? We looked for somewhere with significant resources, expertise and reach, both nationally and internationally. The V&A has fantastic plans to create an international photography centre. The collection will be digitised and accessible in the museum’s study rooms, which were visited by 35,000 people last year, and will join their programme of national tours. |
| The RPS collection only headed to Bradford 13 years ago because the RPS couldn’t afford to look after it properly in its Bath headquarters. The transfer has been welcomed by Michael Pritchard, director general of the society. Moreover, the move represents a homecoming for some of these images, which were once part of a single collection before it divided into the V&A and the Science Museum. | The RPS collection only headed to Bradford 13 years ago because the RPS couldn’t afford to look after it properly in its Bath headquarters. The transfer has been welcomed by Michael Pritchard, director general of the society. Moreover, the move represents a homecoming for some of these images, which were once part of a single collection before it divided into the V&A and the Science Museum. |
| Related: What’s in a name? Just ask Bradford’s National Media Museum why the crowds dried up | Eamonn McCabe | Related: What’s in a name? Just ask Bradford’s National Media Museum why the crowds dried up | Eamonn McCabe |
| The National Media Museum still faces challenges, among them a name that has never connected with audiences. This is why the group has committed to raise £7.5m to fund several extraordinary new galleries. Glorious collections will move from the basement stores to public display. | The National Media Museum still faces challenges, among them a name that has never connected with audiences. This is why the group has committed to raise £7.5m to fund several extraordinary new galleries. Glorious collections will move from the basement stores to public display. |
| And there is more. The enhanced science focus is proving so fruitful that the group will move prized items (including landmark technology by Herschel, Marconi and Wheatstone) from London to Bradford. We are also committed to working with partners to develop new festivals and support the cultural life of the region. Our Bradford museum is not a “satellite” but an equal partner. Only last week, the group held its biggest annual gathering of staff in the museum and adjoining council offices. | |
| We are building a better museum. Bradford is one of the most remarkable cities in Britain and the National Media Museum is an important part of its bright future. | We are building a better museum. Bradford is one of the most remarkable cities in Britain and the National Media Museum is an important part of its bright future. |