Can museums finance themselves?
MúzeumCafé 12.
Gábor Limbacher, Director of the Veszprém County Museums’ Directorate appointed on 1 July: Unlike other institutions, where it would be good if there were fewer people – for example patients in the health system – the public services of museums should keep increasing. Their function in the fields of scientific research, general education, tourism and museum education is fundamental. Yet, museums not only provide a service but also pursue resource exploration and processing, as well as protection. A museum needs constant interaction with its funding body to achieve an optimum ratio between its own resources and those provided by the latter.
Lajos Kósa, Mayor of Debrecen: As to whether a museum or art gallery is able to finance itself, I must say that it cannot. So-called mega-exhibitions have recently become popular, which attracted more than 160,000 visitors. Besides their cultural value, these are devised to help promote museums and culture in a spectacular manner. However, in a financial sense they are much more about enlivening tourism, the revenue from which contributes to the costs. Yet that income doesn’t go to museums but to hotels, restaurants and public transport companies, i.e. culture is able to generate income which doesn’t necessarily end up with cultural institutions. Debrecen spends more than 10% of its budget (around Ft50 billion) on subsidising culture. This percentage is exceedingly high by national standards. High culture has to be financed from public funds everywhere in the world. Before the funding body is able to tell a museum precisely how much its own obligation should be, the subsidy should be clearly of such a scale which allows it to generate substantial income. It would be fortunate if the latter exceeded 30% in every case, yet that would require more extensive state subsidy.
Csilla E. Csorba, Art historian, director of the Petőfi Museum of Literature: The objects and works of art held in museums represent the common property of a country, therefore the state, as owner, must guarantee the protection of their condition and value. I think the state should operate and look after the buildings, and maintain the storerooms in an up-to-date manner. It is obvious that the funding body cannot support every purchase and thus private sponsorship is necessary. At the same time I think there are works of art which are important for Hungary to acquire and which should be kept in the country. It would be expedient to establish a central fund for this purpose. Exhibiting collections is also the task of the state to a certain extent. It would be good if the state offset the annual depreciation by a minimum of 50%. I regard a ratio of 80-20% – state subsidy and a museum’s own financing – viable in such a way that the 20% would include tender opportunities.