As the UK Heads Into an Uncertain State of Lockdown, Museums Are Closing in Rapid Succession

Museums in the UK are closing one after the other amid the
coronavirus outbreak.

The Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum in
London, and all four locations of the Tate are shuttering as the
country goes into semi-official lockdown.

A spokeswoman for the British Museum says: “We are awaiting
further guidance from DCMS and the government today.” She stressed
that the health and safety of its staff and visitors is an absolute
priority. The museum remains open in the meantime.

The Tate’s director, Maria Balshaw, and museum trustees took the
decision to shutter tomorrow until May 1 as a precautionary
measure.

The Tate’s decision was made amid the UK government’s rapidly
changing advice, which some have criticized as confusing. On
Monday, the UK prime minister Boris Johnson shifted the
government’s strategy, asking all theaters and pubs to close, and
millions of people to work from home especially in London, and the
nation to avoid non-essential travel, as projected number of virus
fatalities suddenly rose. But he stopped short of urging museums to
close, although they have restaurants, cafes, and lecture theatres
at their heart.

Late last week, it emerged that a Tate Modern staffer had tested
positive for the coronavirus. In a statement, Tate said it was
closing because “the welfare of our visitors and staff must
always come first,” making no mention of government advice.

The Tate Modern opened a blockbuster Andy Warhol exhibition last
week, in addition to an exhibition by Steve McQueen; at Tate
Liverpool, there is a large show dedicated to Theaster Gates. Kara
Walker’s Tate commission, a water fountain, will be turned off for
the foreseeable future.

The directors and trustees of smaller institutions took matters
in their own hands earlier. On Monday, the South London Gallery
announced it had closed. Next, the director of the Institute of
Contemporary Art, Stefan Kalmar, announced that together with his
chairman, the artist Wolfgang Tillmans, they had decided to close
its galleries, cafe, cinema, and lecture theatre, as a precaution.
By the end of the day the Camden Arts Centre in North London
announced it was closing, too. The Serpentine Galleries said it was
shutting also, announcing its decision shortly after the
Tate’s.

A slew of commercial galleries in Central London had already
announced they were closing their spaces temporarily to the public,
including David Zwirner, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, and White Cube.
In a pointed statement, Matts Gallery said that it was closing its
exhibition after listening to the advice of the World Health
Organization, not the UK government or its experts.

As of press time, the British Museum, National Gallery, and
National Portrait Gallery were still open. Artnet News understands
that a high-level telephone meeting is taking place today between
cultural organizations and the government department responsible
for culture. Last night, when asked whether DCMS’s advice had
changed, a spokeswoman said to listen to the prime minister’s
statement.

Arts Council England, which distributes government funding,
signaled an important shift at the weekend when it announced that
the public facing organizations that it funds they may need to plan
for closure. ACE has made supporting them and artists during the
coronavirus its top priority. The chair of ACE is Nicholas Serota,
a former director of Tate, with the political clout to make tough
calls. Although the directors of the UK’s national museums are no
longer civil servants, stepping out of line will not have been made
lightly by his successor.

The financial impact of closing has led to the UK Museums
Association calling for emergency funding. Its staff are now
working from home. Charities, such as the Royal Academy of Arts,
which receives no direct government funding, and the National
Trust, are particularly vulnerable. Smaller organizations even more
so.

The National Trust announced midday, London time, that its
historic houses and their cafes, restaurants, and shops, will close
by Friday, March 20, but that it is making its gardens free to
visit.

The new culture minister Oliver Dowden tweeted today that the
government is listening to cultural organizations’ concerns at this
“deeply worrying time.”

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Lockdown, Museums Are Closing in Rapid Succession appeared
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