Dorset Museum struggling to cover costs after Covid-era relaunch

Dorset Museum and Art Gallery reopened in 2021 after a major construction project

A museum that relaunched during the pandemic after a £16.4m revamp has said it is struggling to attract enough visitors to cover its running costs.

Dorset Museum and Art Gallery reopened in 2021 after a major construction project lasting more than two years.

But it said Covid-19, the cost of living crisis, Brexit and the war in Ukraine had impacted visitor growth at a time when costs had also risen.

Executive director Claire Dixon said it was a "critical time" for the museum.

Dorset Echo previously reported the museum was at risk of closure without public support.

The museum's new Elisabeth Frink collection was donated by the sculptor's family

Ms Dixon said: "The museum reopened in an unpredictable climate with tourism plummeting and people not going out so the impact that we hoped the transformation would have obviously just didn't come to fruition.

"The building is incredible, the displays are beautiful, but the running costs are high.

"When you increase the size of a building and you increase running costs, you need more people in to make it sustainable. This year is critical."

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The museum in Dorchester's High West Street was recently awarded a grant of £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NHLF) and a further £150,000, spread over three years, from Dorset Council.

It said it had put an action plan in place "to ensure a sustainable financial future for the museum" using the NHLF cash.

The original Victorian Hall in the museum remains largely unchanged

The museum said the cash would help boost its marketing and fund its rebranding, including a revamped website, as well as supporting "key projects related to... longer term resilience", Ms Dixon said.

"The three years of council funding will support core costs to increase digital presence, underpin exhibition costs and support our work in learning and events," she added.

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