An £2m annual deficit has led London’s National Gallery to make a major series of budget cuts. The deficit is estimated for the current fiscal year that ends in March and which, if left unchecked, is expected to grow by another £6.2m for the coming year.
The news, first reported in The Guardian, cites inflation and insufficient income from the institution’s still-recovering visitor counts as the main factors. Despite a recent surge in footfall after the its latest Van Gogh show, Poets and Lovers, and a much-heralded rehang, the museum has yet to rediscover its pre-pandemic audience of six million visitors a year. According to the Art Newspaper, for the 12 months up to last September the number was only 3.8 million.
The National Gallery is looking to reduce spending in public programmes and gallery activities, events which, according to a spokesperson, ‘can no longer justify their costs’. The cuts could mean fewer free exhibitions and more expensive entry fees for ticketed shows.
For its staff, the museum has suggested a ‘voluntary exit scheme’ that provides financial incentives to leave. In cases where these measures do not generate enough savings, it will look to make compulsory redundancies.
The budget for the museum’s planned new wing for the display of modern art, as part of Project Domani, for which it secured a total investment of £375m, has been ringfenced.
