Andrew Vine: All steamed up over museum admission charges

“I think it’s a cheek,” said the woman. “Asking for £3 when it’s free admission. I’m not paying it.” Her male companion agreed, and they went on to talk about what a fantastic place the museum is and how much they were enjoying the visit.

They had an air of affluence about them that suggested that if they had lost £3 through a hole in purse or pocket instead of dropping it into a collection box, they would not have missed it.

No madam, actually the signs at the museum entrance politely suggesting a donation of £3 per person aren’t a cheek. They are a sensible way of raising funds for the NRM, which is free to all who visit.

It is a modest sum to ask for, and if it helps the museum maintain its collection, more power to it.

In common with the overwhelming majority of other visitors going in, my partner and I handed over £3 each.

Most people do so happily, because they realise that if a realistic admission charge 
were levied, it would be far higher.

The miserly couple in the café plainly didn’t see any disconnect between enjoying their afternoon out at the NRM and giving just a little something back by way of thanks not just for the displays, but for the cheerfulness and expertise of the staff.

The big three national museums in Yorkshire – the NRM, National Media Museum and Royal Armouries – all have collection boxes for donations at the entrance, and it is dispiriting to see many visitors just walk past them without contributing so much as a penny.

We can’t take free entry to our museums and galleries for granted any more. The squeeze on public funding has seen to that.

Contradictory though it
 might sound, there’s a price to pay for keeping admissions
free. We’re going to have to get used to putting our hands in our pockets and contributing something.

Harsh economic facts of life compelled York Art Gallery to reintroduce an admission charge at the beginning of August for the first time since 2002.

Non-residents of the city now have to pay £7.50, because the gallery’s subsidy from the city council has been cut by 60 per cent, from £1.5m in 2012 to £600,000 this year.

The decision to cut the subsidy was not taken lightly, but pressures on council budgets mean that savings have to be made somewhere. The newly-refurbished gallery is one of the finest in the country, and an admission fee of £7.50 is good value.

It is very unlikely to be the only museum or gallery in Yorkshire to introduce charges. Every council is under similar pressures to York.

The civic collections across the county contain many gems, and looking after them costs money.

They are repositories of our heritage that help to tell the story of how towns and cities have developed, saluting the talented sons and daughters that made them what they are.

That function should be supported, and if we want these museums and galleries to thrive and hopefully remain free, we’re going to have to stump up for them.

It can be argued that we all do so already via our council tax, but that is only part of the answer.

Those who refuse to put a few pounds in the box for donations as they leave make it increasingly likely that free admission will become a thing of the past as budgets are trimmed.

There are powerful arguments in favour of doing everything possible to protect free admissions. It is an encouragement to the young especially to learn about history or the culture of where they live.

Fostering the widest possible access and the highest visitor numbers are very close to the hearts of all those who care about our museums and galleries, whether they are staff or people who go back again and again to admire or be inspired by the displays.

Lives are enriched by what lies behind the doors of the galleries. New enthusiasms are found and emotions stirred. History is brought to life and context given to how the society we live in developed. Keeping admission free is well worth contributing towards. We could start by capitalising on the ever-growing number of visitors to Yorkshire from abroad.

So many come to savour our rich heritage that they would be likely to take to heart signs explaining that in order to preserve it for all to enjoy, a donation would be appreciated. And we ought to be a little
more assertive in soliciting donations from visitors from this country.

Signs spelling out how much it costs to maintain an attraction like the NRM might concentrate the minds of even the tight-fisted couple in the café on the need to give something back.

Andrew Vine.