Museums at 'critical crossroads' as £2m needed

Birmingham Museums Trust is a charity which cares for and shares Birmingham's collection of around one million objects

A campaign to raise at least £2m to help protect Birmingham's museums has been launched with the leaders saying they were "at a critical crossroads."

The scheme, titled Your Museums, Your Move appeals to residents and businesses to donate to the Birmingham Museums Trust, a charity which looks after sites across the city.

It is hoped the fundraising appeal, which is set to run over a course of two years, will help protect Birmingham's cultural heritage.

"For every pound that we receive in public funding, we need to generate the same ourselves again," said Rowena Dean, the trust's director of development.

"It's been hard, because this museum [Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery] closed in 2020 for refurbishment… that had a huge impact on the trust, all the while costs were rising.

"The figures just simply don't add up anymore, so there's an increasing need for us to generate income from fundraising," she said.

Ms Dean said that the trust wanted the museums to remain free but needed support from the public to ensure that could happen.

The trust also runs venues such as the Thinktank science museum and the Grade I listed Jacobean mansion Aston Hall.

"It costs about £12m a year to run these museums, about half of that comes from Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England, meaning that we need to raise the same amount again through earned income through our shops, our cafes and fundraising, which is why we're launching this appeal… because we need that funding now more than ever as costs are rising," she said.

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery celebrated its 140th anniversary on Friday.

Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said: "Our museums are at a critical crossroads.

"We are very grateful to receive regular funding from Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England, but the reality is that for every pound we receive we must raise the same again to keep the doors open.

"Your Museums, Your Move is a call to action to the people of Birmingham and beyond, including businesses and organisations, to invest in the city's greatest cultural asset, helping us to create a world class museum service which can be at the forefront of making Birmingham a great place to live, work, play and visit. "