New report commission by the National Museum Directors’ Council and Art Fund says vast majority of public consider museums important
The vast majority of the UK public consider museums important to the country’s culture, according to new research.
A YouGov survey, commissioned by Art Fund and the National Museum Directors’ Council, suggests that 89% of UK adults think museums are very, or fairly important to UK culture. Only 7% said museums were not important.
The survey of more than 2,000 adults, taken last month, also suggests that three quarters (76%) of UK adults think having a local museum adds value to their area.
Nearly half (48%) of those survey participants report having visited a museum at least once a year, of that, 35% make a visit twice or more, and only 15% never make a visit.
Participants were asked about the most important functions of museums. They said most importantly museums were ‘for education purposes'( 62)%, ‘to preserve the past’, and ‘to connect with local history’.
Asked about how museums should be funded, almost half (47%) said museums in the UK should be mostly or entirely funded by the government. Only 3% think that they should be entirely funded by other sources such as private investment and income generated from visitors.
When asked specifically about local museums, 74% said the local government should provide at least half of their funding.
The public’s understanding of the funding challenges faced by museums was also interrogated.
There has been a 16% drop in local authority spending on England’s museums since 2010, according to an ACE-commissioned report published earlier this year.
When asked if they think public funding for local museums has gone up or down since 2022, 44% of people correctly identified that it has gone down, with only 9% thinking it has stayed the same and 4% thinking it had gone up.
More highlights and a link to the report are available via the National Museum Directors’ Council.
