Renaissance has a good chance of surviving coming public sector cuts, provided it "forms the backbone of a highly successful museum sector that is making a real difference to people's lives," Sir Andrew Motion told the Museums Association conference today (5th October 2009).
"We need to do everything we can to confirm the place of museums at the heart of our cultural existence. And we need to do it with especial passion, and eloquence, and conviction as the clouds of economic gloom swirl round us during the next few years."
He told delegates that everybody has a part to play in the Museum Action Plan - Leading Museums. "This is where we set out our vision, which is based on a wide consultation, spearheaded by a leadership group with an independent chair who reports to me as chair of the MLA.
"At the core of the document lies our belief that we want to encourage keepers to be sharers in the most active possible way. That is to say: we want to stimulate and help museums to do even more than they already do to put their public first, to move beyond their walls with greater energy and inventiveness, to engage more and more vividly with wider and less familiar audiences."
Turning to the work of the Renaissance Review, and the changes the MLA has made to itself and the delivery of the Programme, Sir Andrew warned that the MLA and the hubs had to demonstrate "where every pound went." He pledged that the MLA would lead an advocacy campaign for Renaissance, based on the message that it is "not an option, it's a necessity."
"These are challenging times, Parliament wants greater value for money, with local government playing a more prominent role,” he said.
"As we work to raise all the hubs to the highest possible standard, we do so convinced that renaissance remains the key mechanism by which long-term strategic and sustainable improvement can be brought to the regional museum sector, and especially to local government funded museums.”
He urged delegates to "see this time of challenge as a time of opportunity".
"Of opportunity to refine your structures to make them as efficient as possible, and to exploit digital, commercial and governmental opportunities."
“We won't agree on everything all the time, but we must never forget that we are all travelling in the same direction. If we become significantly fragmented we will fail, for the simple reason that we will miss out, in a highly competitive funding climate."
See full Andrew Motion speech here