I'm out of a job in 2 months....

Good luck with the job search Mr C, I'm sure the V&A will look good on a CV.

I know there are always budgetary constraints, but for a country that uses it's history & heritage to attract the tourist pound, seems a little short sighted not to protect & promote it

 

Thanks for all the nice messages. Cheekily bumping it back as I am starting to seriously think about a return north. I can usually track down job opportunities nationally, but if anyone hears of anything in my line please flag it up, thanks.

 

There's places in a juvenille care home just outside hemsworth....

 

Just seen this, Paul

Sorry to hear of your predicament, mate. I hope you're successful in your job search.
I agree 100% with your sentiments and views regarding museums and galleries.

 

Re: Just seen this, Paul

what about the town hall museum....om second thoughts ...that wont be there long so you'll end up redundo again.

hth

 

Do you think it would deter people from visiting or are you against the charge in principle? Obviously you know a lot more than I do about this but I think that just because it is paid for by public it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be expected to make a contribution on the day. I think the idea of £10 ticket that gets you into five museums or galleries is a good idea and compared to most activities that is very cheap.

 

It's a very complicated and interesting argument either way. I like your idea of the £10 ticket, I would certainly be happy to pay that. But the national collections are already funded by public money, so people would effectively be asked to pay twice to come in. Also, in time of economic hardship we are a very cheap family day out and essential in such times. I would not like to lose that public service after all, these collections do belong to the nation. People only have so much disposable income and I think to try to compete for that wouldn't really put us in the best light as what the purpose of these places and the work we do really is. Also, I think if admission charges were introduced it would give government the excuse to reduce funding accordingly and negate any benefit that income produced.

The major museums and galleries have a programme of temporary exhibitions. which are ticketed and generate income if well attended. But are very expensive to stage so it is a bit of a gamble that they will be profitable, thus they tend to be a bit commercial and of general appeal. Which isn't always such a bad thing as there are always new audiences to enjoy them and learn from the experience. The V&A has just closed a smashing exhibition of Post-war British Design spanning the time between Olympics of 1948, - when it staged it's last big Brit design show - and now. A tidy little idea, very commercial and relatively cheap as 90% of the stuff was from our own collection and didn't involve the cost of loans, transit etc. And this is a sign of the times. 3 years ago we staged a similar scale, that is BIG - show called Cold War Modern focusing on design between the east & west superpowers during the cold war. That was extremely expensive to stage as nearly all exhibits were borrowed from the US and Russia including a Sputnik Satellite loaned from the Kremlin, a very complicated and expensive bit of business. That actually turned a profit but was not expected to, now they HAVE to. Hence the next major exhibition is of Hollywood film costume, absolutely sure fire hit & money in the bank. But is it really what the V&A should be doing? Since our Theatre Museum in Covent Garden ad to close 5 years ago we have to. We also have the David Bowie exhibition opening in a couple of weeks, which I worked on. Ironically this will take place in a gallery which used to hold our collection of musical instruments which has since been moved out to allow space for more chargeble commercial exhibitions such as this.

I think this is a necessary shift in approach but keep the main body of the collections free for the people.

 

ha ha, good one. Not qualified I'm afraid.

 

Not the best analogy but it's a bit like the NHS - it's funded by the public but you still have to pay for your prescriptions. You're right in what you say unfortunately - any additional income would lead to a reduction in funding so I suppose it's a no win situation.

Out of interest, do you know how much the V&A would raise in public donations - by that I mean visitors putting into the collection pot rather than rich benefactors making donations?

 

The accounts for 2010/11 show a category called – Donations and legacies with about £6.5m against it, not a clue what that includes. Have a look http://media.vam.ac.uk/media/documents/Annual_Report_&_Accounts_2010-11.pdf

 

Re: Just seen this, Paul

May be a position open on grove street in around 2 months if you fancy management.

 

Sorry to hear that, Paul. Given what you say about the level of cuts in your sector by successive governments then are you looking primarily at the "options outside arts and heritage" or hopeful that you'll find something closer to your current position? In either case, good luck!

 

It is actually in that region, this includes I think, proceeds from visitor donations, 'friends of' memberships and the gift shop. I'm not sure if that includes tendering out the restaurant, I tend to think not as that generates serious money. Same with the corporate function/events side of business, again enormous. It is no coincidence though, that this 6-7 million self generated annual income matches the figure of the funding cuts imposed on us in 2009.

We have donation boxes strategically place around the building with a "suggested donation of £3" slapped on them, which I personally don't agree with, but there it is. The US has a more aggressive policy towards extracting donations, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA) in New York actually try to take 20 dollars off you before you even go in. Our old Director Sir Mark Jones, was there on business and decided to put the system to the test and was refused entry when he refused to give a donation, saying he would decide how much to donate after his visit. Much embarrassment all round and a swift change of policy.

It's not my field of knowledge by any means but as the V&A is a public institution the Freedom of Information act allows anyone to access certain info as Ponty72 has found.

 

Re: Just seen this, Paul

I am not ruling out anything at this stage and am monitoring the situation closely.

 

It is my field of work, FOI, EIR & DPA, well part of my job anyway.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation Mr C. I really hope you can get something sorted out as soon as possible.

 

I've been a member of the National Trust for more than thirty years and I'm also a member of English Heritage. Is it possible to have a membership scheme for English Museums to help to fund the vital work that you do?

I took my grandson to the Science Museum a few weeks ago and I was surprised it was free, we ad a great time and he loved the IMax. Never been to the V&A, but I will now.

I'm sorry to hear about you losing your job and I wish you well for the future.

 

Sorry to hear that mate, best of luck.

My job at Jaguar is being outsourced to Tata (Tata bought out Jaguar Landrover 4 years ago). However, I'm lucky because I've been offered VR (9 months pay) and unreduced pension (I'm 56 and I've got 22 years so the pension is very good) so I'm out. The rest of my colleagues have been offered redeployment within the company (as they are recruiting at the moment). Between the four of us at Castle Brom we've got almost 100 years experience in Manufacturing Systems at Jaguar and they expect the plant to just carry on with a few wet-behind-the-ears graduates flown in from India. It'll all end up in tears.

 

Sorry to hear that. I'm also losing my job in 2 months time and I work in IT for one of those banks people despise so much. Not everyone came out of it well, and the fact that a part state-owned bank can offshore most of it's IT work is a disgrace.
Does the V&A have the donation boxes? Often when I visit free museums that have these I'll place a donation in the box. Also, I was recently in Bruges and they have a 3 day museum pass for €15, given the main two were €8 each admission it made it good value.

 

I might be in the same position (again) in the next few months. I am 100% FTE (IT support) for a certain train company that is losing its franchise this week. So my role as such will only be around until maybe the New Year. Hopefully will get moved to another role, but will probably lose on-call (at least short term), so at the very least will have a pay cut in time for Christmas.