The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Government funding on museums has not increased worldwide”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 19, 2007
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New Delhi

“Government funding on museums has not increased worldwide”

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Government spending on art and heritage has not increased with increasing expansion of museum structures worldwide, according to Vinod Daniel, Chairman of Australia’s Network for Cultural Heritage Services.

Mr. Daniel said: “Throughout the world museum structures and buildings are expanding their space which has meant a huge increase in their maintenance and running cost, but the Government spending on art and heritage has remained static. In such a scenario where the Government is spending all its extra money on health and education, we have to think of some way to make museums economically viable.”

According to him, museums form an integral part of the culture sector which is one of the main drivers of the economy, provides jobs, attracts tourists and has a distinct identity in the global community.

Delivering a lecture on “Museums for the 21st Century” at The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage here this past week, Mr. Daniel provided a snapshot of emerging trends on how museums are changing in the international context and the accompanying challenges facing museums all over the world.

Prime concern

Reiterating sustainability of museums as the prime concern, Mr. Daniel said: “For museums to be sustainable, they have to be not just economically self-sufficient but also socially inclusive and environmentally aware.”

According to Mr. Daniel, providing virtual access to museums through website hold tremendous promise for sustaining museums in the future. Mr. Daniel, who is also the Head of the Cultural Heritage and Science Initiatives Branch, Australian Museum, said: “The Australian Museum gets about 350,000 to 400,000 visitors every year. However, we get about 20 million visitors through our website which is a huge change as this figure is doubling every six months. Consequently it is a big challenge to update our website on a regular basis.”

Comparing the museum culture in India with the rest of the world, INTACH Chairman S.K. Misra said: “In India museum consciousness has not developed at par with other countries. Here there is a tendency among people to visit museums as a social event than due to a genuine interest . This is why it is difficult to generate much income from museums in India. The concept of having exclusive museum shops storing gift items needs to be developed here as well.”

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