Culture at War

Fascinating discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival looking at the future of museums.

Chaired by Charlotte Higgins, chief culture writer at The Guardian, the event brought together Gus Casely-Hayford, founding Director of V&A East which is currently under construction in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries (2010–2016).

They discussed competing claims on who owns cultural heritage and who it is speaking to against the background of the pandemic and the economic problems this has caused for museums. They talked about the lessons of the pandemic including relying less on tourism and looking more to the domestic audience and the growth in digital content. The latter led to a lively discussion about the relative merits of going to see real objects and looking at them online.

As an avid museum and gallery visitor this discussion gave me lots to think about in my visits since.

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