Kelvingrove Museum To Charge Visitor Fee, BBC Reveals exhibi

[potatojunkie]

Bumped into Steven Purcell on George Square.They're charging.

How much to actually knock him over?

[gap74]

I don't really see this as a huge deal, as has been mentioned, I remember charging for stuff like the Dead Sea Scrolls - although I think I might have gotten in for free cos that was the year I did three weeks work at the Kelvingrove as part of my archaeology degree shenanigans.

These things are probably fairly expensive to stage, a small charge to see them for those who wish to do so is better than not seeing them at all.

And it's miles better than what the galleries and museums in London charge for their big exhibitions, aren't some of them around the 20 quid mark, and your timeslot has to be pre-booked?

[Dexter St. Clair]

Glasgow's museums and Art galleries have always been free to the public. Even when the highly subidised national galleries were charging. One of the good things that came with the Labour government in 1997 was the removal of Conservative imposed entrance fees to to museums.

Glasgow's policy on free entry had come under pressure. The McLellan galleries as it always housed temporary exhibitions were used twice for exhibitions that charged an entry fee. A major discussion took place on the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition. To summarise it was a once in a lifetime exhibition and security and lighting costs were a lot higher than usual. As it turned out not as many people as anticipated turned up.

The Dr. Who exhibition is a commercial proposition previously on display at a commercial exhibition space and can in no way be compared to the The Dead sea Scrolls exhibition. Kelvingrove now has more people in eating, dancing and drinking at the weekends than the Corinthian. At least on of the Corporation gasworks gang who run Culture and Sport along with Lord Snooty and his chums previously said admission fees would be charged "over her dead body". I have scanned the obituaries to little avail.

We will have part of Kelvingrove limited during normal opening hours to paying customers.

[gap74]

Hmm, without wanting to sound like something of a snob, this is something of a commercial thing for somewhere like Kelvingrove - its relevance to the general aims of a large city museum are probably somewhat dubious.

Dr Who certainly has its fans, and many of them, and all power to them. But I'd say this exhibition probably has limited appeal to the general public at large, so some of the city's council taxpayers may wonder why they should be expected to subsidise Dr Who fans.

Depends on the figures, really. Is this a commerical partnership between the council and whoever is providing the exhibits? Or is it more a case of the space being rented from the council and run by the exhibitors?

Either way, the main exhibits remain open and free as before, so I find it hard to get aggrieved - if the entrance fee puts someone off going to Dr Who, then don't go. But then, I'm not really a Dr Who fan...!

[Mark N]

Dr Who certainly has its fans, and many of them, and all power to them. But I'd say this exhibition probably has limited appeal to the general public at large,

I disagree with that - don't forget Dr Who is really meant to be a kids' programme. And I would think the number of kids who are fans is huge - just look at the amount of merchandise in the shops. So I'm sure there will be plenty of kids pestering their parents to take them and it will be very popular.

And that's before you even consider the huge gay following the programme has

[dimairt]

Will this be the first of many and lead to general admission charges at all our museums? I'm in two minds about charges having seen this exhibition in Edinburgh and paid to do so there. Note though that Glasgow isn't getting the full show which consisted of 100 paintings.
Charges apart, it was great to have so many wonderful pieces in one place and what's a fiver to an underworked and overpaid CS Glasgow employee like me? I'll get a staff discount too - that's only £3.

Le durachd,
Eddy


http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/sho ... itemid=218

[iBob]

I don't really see this as a huge deal... I remember charging for stuff like the Dead Sea Scrolls

I agree - as long as it isn't too often and the exhibitions being charged for are truly exceptional then where is the harm?

Would this impressionist exhibition have come to Kelvingrove without an entrance fee?
It isn't the first time. I don't mind paying out occasionally as long as we retain and expand a world class metropolitan collection that is free to view.

I have to say, while on the subject of Kelvingrove, that the redesign and layout are not at all to my liking.
Much prefered the 'old' layout. I know it is now very child friendly and popular with families.
Well my family loved it as it was when they were growing up.

I have only been back once since it opened - I used to go a couple of times a week.
It was a handy relaxing place for me to walk to from home - a pot of tea and a wander through the galleries. All gone now.
Replaced with a ghastly shadow of its former self.

[onyirtodd]

.........
Much prefered the 'old' layout. I know it is now very child friendly and popular with families.
Well my family loved it as it was when they were growing up.

...................... .

There's a body of opinion elsewhere which reckons it's little more than a creche with a few nice pictures on the walls.

[Sharon]

There's a body of opinion elsewhere which reckons it's little more than a creche with a few nice pictures on the walls.

I really do wish they would open it for a child free evening one a month, with wine! A chance to actually enjoy the exhibits and artworks - Now that I happily WOULD pay for.

Us child free types are discriminated against!!

[onyirtodd]

There's a body of opinion elsewhere which reckons it's little more than a creche with a few nice pictures on the walls.

I really do wish they would open it for a child free evening one a month, with wine! A chance to actually enjoy the exhibits and artworks - Now that I happily WOULD pay for.

Us child free types are discriminated against!!

That's an excellent idea. I'm not against children in Kelvingrove - after all it was such an important part of so many Glaswegian childhoods - but at times it now seems little more than a free, warm refuge for Saturday dads.

[Riotgrrl]

So the coonsul created a company to run their sport and leisure. This company will now no doubt not be VAT exempt resulting in 17.5% of the budget immediately surrendered back to London. With regard to the Dr Who exhibition, if it intends levying a fee from one public body to another for access of the very people who have paid for the exhibition from their license fees, the City should charge a rent for the space they will take up in the gallery - that rent should equate to the anticipated income.

Is the Culture and Leisure company not also a registered charity (like the Community Safety one is)? In which case the VAT position will not be as you describe it.

Those of us who actually live in the city and pay council tax here should get some kind of 'Citizen' card so that we can get in for free to the galleries and things we actually pay for, and the council-tax-dodgers of Rutherglen and the like could be made to pay. That would be the fair way.

[Peetabix]

So the coonsul created a company to run their sport and leisure. This company will now no doubt not be VAT exempt resulting in 17.5% of the budget immediately surrendered back to London. With regard to the Dr Who exhibition, if it intends levying a fee from one public body to another for access of the very people who have paid for the exhibition from their license fees, the City should charge a rent for the space they will take up in the gallery - that rent should equate to the anticipated income.

Is the Culture and Leisure company not also a registered charity (like the Community Safety one is)? In which case the VAT position will not be as you describe it.

Those of us who actually live in the city and pay council tax here should get some kind of 'Citizen' card so that we can get in for free to the galleries and things we actually pay for, and the council-tax-dodgers of Rutherglen and the like could be made to pay. That would be the fair way.

I spoke about that ages ago. A wee card (not an I.D. card) that gets you cut price entry to various places. Rip off the tourists all you want but it is our council tax that is paying for a lot of the attractions. To keep on topic, I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to view an exhibition I was really interested in as long as it's not for general entry.

[mrsam]

People don't panic, 'tis standard procedure to charge entry to TEMPORARY exhibitions in museums (reference Nat museum Edinburgh(silver), London Nat hist museum(dinos) + Ashmolian museum oxford(I forget what for)) The 2 main points are
1) be thankfull such a cultural resource is free to use
2) if the temporary exhibition (be it Dr Who, trains, Kids being forcefully quitened (Sharon) or hippos) brings in people to the museum that might not have come in then increasing visitor numbers has to be good
3) its only temporary so in a few months (if you hate it) it'l be gone

Mr Sam