free museums

Free-to-view art is an investment for growth

The government may be thinking about charging for entry into our museums and galleries. It would be a big mistake

Posted by  Jonathan Jones  Wednesday 30 June 2010 16.04 BST

The new era of fiscal sado-masochism is going to hit our museums hard. They have never been over-funded. In all the years of New Labour, museum directors never came near the budgets they would have loved to spend on enriching their collections. But they have become good at appearing to be rich and glamorous. This might make them tempting targets for the cutmasters.

There is one feature of our museums, above all, that is a huge loophole – a miracle, actually – of generous civic pride. No other country rivals the British tradition of free entry to museums. You can walk into our public collections without paying a penny. At all the other great galleries of Europe you need to buy a ticket. This is a sitting duck, isn't it? If I were deciding how to save money on museums, I would want to look at the idea of charging for admission. But it would be a terrible mistake. There is massive cultural value to free museums. It is one of the greatest educational assets we possess. Take it out of the equation and the amazing excitement about art in 21st-century Britain would become much more muted.

It is sad to visit museums in Europe and find their galleries empty. I have had this experience at some extremely fine collections, even at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. What is wrong? At London's museums, the fizz of crowds is not tiring, it is stimulating: there is no downside to the huge numbers of visitors they get, and while welcoming tourists, they also attract many British people whose desire to learn is evident from the numbers who sign up to gallery tours and attend lectures. It's great to see people in the National Gallery discussing a Bronzino in depth, just out of interest. Does all this depend on museums being free? Well let's say the chemistry is working: take free out of that chemistry and you might be startled at the loss of energy.

For me, what matters most about free admission is the fact you can go as much as you want, whenever you need, to feast on art, culture and history. It is like going online except the exhibits are real, not ethereal. Culture and education are actually the same thing. To love art is to want to know more about it: to enjoy it is to learn about it. A society that is learning is one that is growing. Free museums are the most magical and marvellous treat of living in this country. To take away that elixir of knowledge would be stupid and sad. So hands off this universal good

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