The Art Fund conducts its own research to better understand the needs of museums and those that visit them.
Our research helps inform The Art Fund's policies and, in turn, our campaigning priorities. We also analyse research undertaken by others in the arts world.
Current Research
The Art Fund is calling on the government to look at ways to increase the spending power of museums. If the money cannot come from public funds, then steps must be taken to encourage private philanthropy, through better tax incentives.
Private Collections in the Public DomainOver the past few months The Art Fund has been working with tax lawyers Allen & Overy to put together a study of the tax regimes in force in the UK, France, Netherlands, Switzerland and the US: the aim of which was to examine the extent to which they facilitate the enjoyment of privately owned collections. The paper was prepared for the Weidenfeld Institute conference on ‘The Arts in the global society – private collections in the public eye,’ at which private collectors, museum directors and academics explored the ways in which private collections could potentially be placed in the public domain. In particular the paper highlights the kind of mechanisms that governments have developed to encourage private owners to open up their collections for enjoyment by the public, or to transfer ownership of their collections to the public domain. It reveals that most jurisdictions offer incentives to encourage outright gifts of works of art to cultural institutions with the conspicuous absence in the UK of income tax relief for gifts of works of art. This has led us to pose certain questions such as how can we promote additional planned giving in the UK and what lessons can be learnt from abroad? And should private collectors be encouraged to donate their works of art to established museums/ galleries rather than seek to set up their own museums? |
The Art Fund investigates the public value of museum collectionsWhat is it that you value about museum collections? Have museum visits had a transformative impact on your life? How much do you think curators and directors listen to you when making decisions about collections and exhibitions? These are the questions we will seek to address through our investigation into public value. For several years now, there has been much theorising about what kind of value the arts deliver. Public value has been a useful tool in measuring the value delivered by public service organisations such as the NHS and has been helpful way of making sure that managers engage with their public. However, there does not seem to have been a rigorous and in-depth study of the public value of museum collections. We will aim to fill this gap by working in collaboration with the research consultancy, The Work Foundation and will focus on the public value delivered by both a national and a regional museum. We will aim to stimulate debate about the value of museums and galleries to both individuals as users and as citizens, through holding a series of citizens’ workshops. These will involve inviting members of the public to the chosen museums and presenting them with information about the way the museum functions. We will then ask the panel to assess the perceived value of this service. Drawing on the BBC examination of public value as a means to justify charter renewal, we will ask whether public subsidy of the arts is defensible. Are those who do not visit museums, still aware of the public good they deliver and would they still be willing to pay for their existence? We are holding two citizen's workshops - one at Manchester City Galleries and the other at the National Gallery, London - and aim to publish out findings in the spring of 2008 |
Museum Collecting: An International ComparisonThe Art Fund has published research which compares the purchasing power of the UK’s major museums with some of their counterparts abroad. The new research, the first of its kind, shows that the UK’s leading art museums lag behind other world-class museums when it comes to money available to buy new works of art for their collections. This research follows the publication earlier this year of The Collecting Challenge: The Art Fund Museum Survey 2006 which exposed a crisis in funding (particularly for our regional museums) but also a lack of will on behalf of central and local government to support collecting. This new research suggests that even our greatest museums and galleries can no longer compete effectively on the world stage. Related links |
