Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum Management Committee - Monday, 3rd June, 2024 2.00 pm
June 3, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meeting or read trancriptTranscript
[BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] Well, thank you very much, Councillor Williams, and it allows me to turn to the second item on agenda, which is the election of a vice chairman of the Russell Coates, Park Gallery Museum Management Committee, and I'd like to nominate Councillor Williams.
Are there any other nomination? May I congratulate you, Lawrence, on your election? Thank you. Good. Item three, apologies for absence. And I believe we've had those from Fiona Winrow and Alan Frost. Rebecca, is that- That's correct, yes. Thank you very much. Item four, statutory item, I asked whether there are any declarations of interest relating to items on this agenda. None are admitted. Thank you. You are in possession of the minutes of the previous meeting. Are there any amendments members wish to make to those minutes? In which case, I think they now stand. Matters arising from the minutes, I think, are included within the agenda. Within the agenda of this afternoon that I will just look round and see if there are any matters arising by members. None. In which case, we can move to item six, which relates to public issues. And this is an opportunity to receive questions from public related to the Russell Coates Museum and Gallery management. And I believe there are several questions. And I think, Councillor MARTIN, you are going to help us with this item. I am indeed. Thank you, Chair. So I have three questions. Sorry. I am remiss in not welcoming Ord Remain Chapel to the meeting formally. Thank you for joining us and I believe that these are questions you have given us in advance and to which Andy will respond. Would you like your name? Nice. Very good of you to invite me to ask these three questions, which I think are important. And forgive my occasional intervention in the affairs of the management committee. And thank you. And I have been involved with the museum since 1976, when I was appointed as one of the Jews in the crown. And of course, the former council act was promoted under my direction and with the involvement of sharpy cha. And of course, as a council, my continued my interest in the Russell Coates right up to the present day. These three questions, I hope you will forgive me. I do think they are important. Will the council continue to make an annual grant or subsidy to the new company, the independent company as part of the financial settlement, how will this be secured? Secondly, and this is a question I did ask in council several months ago, even a year ago. In the event of this CLG, that is the new independent company, going into administration, what will happen to the museum and the collection? Will it be disposed of as the administrator or liquidator teams fit? And thirdly, kindly provide details of the new IT legal and financial arrangements. Wilma board be able to externalize these services with a town hall continued to provide them. Now, in my practice and in my experience with the charity commission over many years, they have always insisted that an independent body retain the right to get its own legal advice. That's a strong recommendation. I just wondered whether the charity commission are asking for that in this case, much obliged to German. Thank you so much. Yes, thank you. Thank you, chair, and can I just say. I'm happy to see all of the chapel back in there back in the town hall and taking such a close interest in the Russell Cokes Museum. All these years after you were last the council. I think it's very it's very refreshing and then delighted to see you here. So thank you. If I can just answer those three questions. Question one, I just remind remind everybody what the question is. Will the council continue to make an annual grant, stroke subsidy to the C.L.G. as part of the financial settlement? How will this be secured? So the answer is no is the direct and straightforward answer and consequently, nothing beyond what has been agreed is secured. To be clear, there shall no longer be an annual grant. The council has committed to provide two million pounds up front in addition to the asset transfer of the study center, circa of a million and a one of maintenance grant. 250,000 and the transfer of any residual reserves and mounting reserve amounts on vesting day. No further financial support is included in the council's medium term financial plan. However, the two million pounds is broadly equivalent to five years of support based on recent activity. So it could be inferred as covering five years, but the company shall need to manage its financial affairs and subject to how successful or otherwise the council is. The two million pounds may last for a longer or shorter timeframe. Whilst there is not an expectation from the council's perspective that request for further financial support. The February decision does not forbid any request being made now or in the future by the Russell Coates Art Gallery and museum, but any decision to provide more financial support shall need to be made in line with the normal financial regulations and governance processes. So question two, in the event of the C.L.G. going into administration, what would happen to the museum and the collection will it be disposed of as the administrator deems fit. So the answer to that is, we understand the museum, house and collections are in permanent endowment and therefore there is no legal mechanism for them to be sold or disposed of in any circumstances. The purpose of the new governance arrangements is to ensure the long term financial and organizational sustainability of the Russell Coates. The precise arrangements therefore in the unlikely event of this C.L.G. going into administration are subject to legal advice from sharp Pritchard which we have been unable to procure in time for this meeting, but which will follow in a written statement, which will be sent to Alderman Chapel and included in the minutes for a complete record. And finally, currently provide the details of the new IT legal and financial arrangements, will the board be able to externalize these services, or will the town hall continue to provide them. And the answer is, currently the museum receives its IT, finance and HR support services from the council. As part of the changes towards full independence, the new body, RCA GM sole trustee limited, will procure a new provider for each of these services, though, sorry, through the national lottery heritage fund supported governance change project. Escope of works is being developed for each of these areas to use as the basis for good value provision to be identified suitable to the scale of the newly independent museums. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. The written set of answers be available to you, and they will of course be in the minutes of the meeting. Item 7. The Russell Coates Museum and gallery update report and I'm inviting you Sarah to summarize that, which is available to us in our papers. Okay, thank you chair. Hold, go through and just pick out some highlights and obviously to have it take any questions, comments. So, really successful I think, end of the financial years of the last six months have continued to be. Really good visitor numbers. So you see that, that's, we, I think we reached a sort of record number 53,000 visitors over the whole year. And that's despite being closed before weeks in January. I think that's the highest since we've introduced charging for the charging mechanisms of change and obviously impacted on numbers, but since charging has been introduced all year round. I think those are the highest figures we've ever had. And that compares with national national numbers, which are significantly down so I think it's really, yeah, we're really, really pleased with that. At that performance and you can see that we finished the year really strongly with really high and this probably record visitor numbers for February and March. Usually these things are a combination of a number of factors, some of which are in our control like good marketing and good exhibitions and some of them, like whether I'll completely outside our control, but that was very good. I have to say that I understand the last the first two months of this year performance is, is, is good, a slightly better than even in the last year. So, fingers crossed, we have another good, another good year admission charges increased to five 50. There's been no evidence of any negativity about that. This represents extremely good value for money. So we'll keep an eye on the impact of that. Obviously the building continues to be a major concern. So we've had a lot of really quite catastrophic events, which have not been great. And it's the vulnerability of the building within its poor state repair that continues to be a major, major concern for us. And we had to, we had led to theft and a break in in the last six months, which obviously have been caused a great concern, but they have now been resolved. And we just stay as ever alert to anything we can do to improve the situation or reduce the kind of risk. And I had to say that the front gate has been replaced, and is up and very smart. So that's since this report was written. We're going to come on at the end of the last, the last time, I didn't write some is the audit, the new audit policy and under that policy if you agree it but we have done is anyway, we have done an audit. We're going to talk about an audit and that we're going to take an audit of 227 objects in the collection. They were all found, and also we did an audit because of through Hicks and store financial auditors, they did an additional audit. So just to say that that's now in process and we'll continue with that. To just can't point out that we had a temporary collections and exhibitions officer, or engagement officer rather, for about 18 months that we had two members of staff over a short period, who were really helpful in terms of improving and developing our interpretation, engagement activities. Those contracts are now come to an end, so we are back to our sort of kind of really cool team. So, a lot of there's a lot of interest in doing further activities, but it's really very difficult for us. We are kind of staffing levels. So, so the moment I put in there about the interest in improving our digital offer, but without more capacity. It's really on hold for a moment. A few exhibitions that have happened, so I think we think the last meeting we just had the opening of the sign exhibition and that the Thai ambassador came down for a rather nice event which was rather well attended and that exhibition was very successful the photography exhibition and is now down. and now we've got currently got a rather one exhibition of Albert de Belarus who is a contemporary and a friend of Singapore and so sort of brings that sort of bear pop kind of period period to life in the museum. Just because I'm talking about it, can I just quickly flip that. The next exhibition, the next exhibition coming up is called artists on per bay spirit of place, which will be a wonderful exhibition, particularly focusing on sort of 20th century painters who are working on per bay. It's proven to be quite an expensive exhibition to fund because of the cost of all the transport I mean, the bigger the exhibition obviously the bigger the costs. So if any we are doing a fundraising drive so if anyone knows any contacts will be really grateful, anyone who might want to sponsor that support that in anywhere, even in a small scale it all helps. So I've got some little leaflets if anyone can help on that would be very grateful. Yes the costs are mounting, but it would be it would be a there's some beautiful beautiful work in there should be lovely. The I don't know if anyone has been attentive but we've run a sort of we've been running a monthly late program of evening events which have been really really successful as unfortunately, have rather, we've sort of rather being too successful for our own good. So we have reef reworking those slightly, we're reducing the number of them and we're starting to charge for them, because they were the numbers that were attending were just too great for the spaces that we have available so that I think the pandemic for Christmas, we had we realized about a week before the event that we already had sold out something like 300 tickets. So we were absolutely at fire fire capacity. So we've started to ticket them and charge for them, and it will be really interesting to see by changing that model what what that impact has, because the friends tickets have largely I think been driven by attendance the late but it's not it's just not that you know, and we just can't cope with this kind of number so we'll be sitting to see what happens there, just keeping an eye on that for the for the next year. We've had some very good engagement with Blomuth University and so we had did a partnership event, probably in the autumn with Blomuth University and through that we've developed a few projects with students with various staff members. We're going to, we're going to that that's going to develop further. So it's just the moment of kind of just an exploration this year of seeing what works, what doesn't work and where we can go to create a sound of sustainable model for working with the University. With that and AUB, we've had a close relationship over the years anyway they again have done a few projects but recently they did a lovely art installation project which was very yeah which was really enjoyable interesting. Moving on, yes, success with art fun so art fun introduced a new grant scheme called going places where they're looking at trying to create networks of different museums that will then go out to create exhibitions, joint exhibitions with a community engagement element. We have we have formed a network with the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle if anyone's familiar with that extraordinary Renaissance style. The purpose book Museum literally on the edge of the little town of Barnard Castle is quite an extraordinary place, a real place and also with the What's Gallery, which is up in just on the outskirts of Guilford, which was home to Jeff Watson was a non-missiness Victorian artist in his date so the three of us are working together with them and written a sort of development phase so we're working together with them to look at what an exhibition program might look like for a five year over a five year period and then that we worked up to an application to the heritage lottery fund and they'll be funding for five years to develop those exhibitions which would tour. So we do have a developer sort of coming up an exhibition which would go to Durham, sorry, and to bournemouth. So it's really really interesting opportunity. We're really just exploring at the moment we've decided to focus particularly on young people as our target audience to do something with young people, probably again using the universal connections with university to develop activities. The funding is very very significant I mean, you know sort of funding which is very significant bond anything that we would normally be able to pay spend on the exhibition so it's a real opportunity there but it's obviously we've had some visits to, I've been up to to Barnard Castle to have a look and we'll talk to them so we're just sort of in those negotiations at the moment. So it's a really exciting opportunity. Marketing wise we've done really well I think we were in the Sun and the country life in the same week but I don't think many organizations have that's kind of conclaimed that. So I would say you know some really good coverage in nationals locals I think we're just generally there's just been a bit of a buzz which has been really helpful. We won the daughter tournaments award silver award and we also won tourism business award We'll put in for some more awards I think it's quite good sort of to be seen within sector by doing those so we're just going to put it to looking at some looking to doing some more of those applications in this summer. That's is has done extremely well I think they're a little bit concerned because of the work that's going on and the on the conservatory that this summer might not be quite so strong because the the the terraces is slightly less discovered in scaffolding so that's a bit of a challenge. But they have really got a much more secure staff and a bit more capacity there so they didn't see much results and the shop has done has done is doing okay they was a decrease on sales last year compared to the previous year but the profit margins were pretty much the same. And I think in the last year we felt a lot of books, which don't give such a good profit margin so the profit margins have been fine. Moving on, we, one thing area of development that we'd like to look into is around us working with our volunteers to develop programs around visitor well being and creativity. And we'll do from visitor responses that you know what's so amazing about Russell coaches you go in there and you're transported into a different place, and it's you know people just tell us how well they respond to that. So we'd like to build on that with our own volunteers but also perhaps developing activities which we could then extend out to our visitors. And I think this is such an important kind of area currently isn't it looking at these kind of issues. So we will colleagues we're looking at trying to develop some more capacity so that we can do more of that kind of thing. I think that's one of the local fundraising fund local funding pots like Torwood village, Valentine's so on took to target some specific activity that. Sorry moving on to funding more generally so we received £6,000 from neighborhood still so this came through our local counsellors that's been allocated to the garden, and to the railing. There's some works already been done on the fountain, and very soon they'll be redecorating the little children's sculptures that go along the terrace you know the railing so everyone knows that the people love them they're in a very bad way so that work will start fairly hopefully very soon before the main sort of summer season gets going, I think that would be rather lovely. Well, great to that another small work on the Japanese bridge and so on so that will improve the garden and that kind of hold exterior area. The wellness civic society gave us some funding to recreate a children's. Play pavilion in the garden. Sorry, can you pass me that bit of paper. Sorry that's it then because my props I've also propped today and so these are the first concept designs that we've got to be recreating the little children's pavilion that was there in the original garden I think left to cade about 20, 30 years ago so that's concept science look at that that will have to go through planners before you can obviously move on that one but that's in progress. And we did receive 84,000 thing numbers and I've confirmed 317 pounds from Julius starlord's legacy and I have allocated that to hopefully support a match funding for men which will come on to. I'll pick up the grant for the victim, the next report on the acquisition zones and disposals. So, actually with item nine. Do you want me to do with men's item nine to put that all together. We'll come back to that. Okay, that's fine. So that is that's a quick call. Some questions Sir. I'm sorry I should know your name but I. George certainly. Well, by that's what George Walker newly elected mayor of form of. I'm pleased to be attending this particular meeting and hearing about progress. The Rossel crows. Particularly since I came to mention it a couple of times just in the chamber. And I believe in my acceptance speech for mayor making as well. I'm pleased that so many recognized including the old amount that it is very much to duel and foremost crown. So I'm going to ask my personal sex on to the team that no small details been overlooked and what caught my attention there and just in my capacity. As the mayor for the sax, people are born with is I happened after the inauguration to actually drop in to visit the staff at the Rossel coast museum and I was touched to see the. How did you describe it in the railings the different symbols of the beat seem like a balls, etc. I was I really touched because it reminded me long before I moved to board of my first visits to the Rossel coast machine. And then it was very different and visits to warm up and the whole stretch down there. I'm so pleased to see that the Rossel coach is taking that on to maintain that heritage in that link because it's so vital for any bus to town. To know that when they come back they have been looked after and it's been there. It's been kept in perpetuity on for those memories. So I just wanted to raise that and pass my sax on to the team and Rossel coach. Thank you. Mr Mayor. Thank you very much indeed for that contribution. We're now moving to the item. I think the subject of the disposals principally is taxidermy. So we've had model boats. We've had one or two other items, including a wheelbarrow, but this occasion, a number of both case and uncased items. I wonder if you'd just like to say a few words Sarah before we approve or otherwise those disposals. Sorry. Okay. Yeah, just before we go into the love of disposals, just acquisitions, just to say that we've acquired five studies, or loose account Welsh sketches. And we for that we got funding from art fund and from Vienna Arts Council England, which has been a grant purchase grant, and we you'll approve for I think everyone I emailed everybody everyone agreed. We, we use them apart. The funds that we have restricted for this purpose. They will be a price placement update Friday for the curfew, as it were, and those will go on display in the museum for a few months, because they're like very sensitive so from July, probably they'll be on display in the next of the actual painting itself. And just points out before we want again, the boring, that's the case Welsh show went up to the National Health written Museum in New Markets come back, and that we are lovely. So we're in Burmish shrine that's on display in the Red Room went to the British Museum for Burma to my arm our exhibition which was rather to visit that right view and that was rather, it's been very well received. Currently on display we have the Harvard doesn't paintings which are in the Museum of San Domenico in for Lee, and I just brought this up to show you so this is the cat like goodness me of that shows a major major pre-replite show at Ali which is just near Bologna, and actually I'm going to hold in to me next week so I'm going to go and visit that. But this is a major main show we've learnt about half a dozen paintings from our collection in that's really put in put colonialism on the map worldwide, actually loads from all over the world, and then we've got a couple of things off on the moment at the Tate for now you see us which is an exhibition about of female artists, which so there just so do have a look at those. And they're moving on to yes the highlight the disposal so these are this is almost really technical disposal because these are all items of taxidermy that have come into the collection one way another from locally or not, they are all on loan permanent well on permanent loan as it were to the Hampshire cultural trust and essentially they will just move into there we're hoping that they'll just move into their kind of permanent collection so actually just kind of over the years and off off our, off our lists rather than being that giving any space sadly, but we're just trying to get through all the taxidermy if it's not related to any of that wasn't collected by them, we'll be keen for them to move on. But for some of the procedures, introduction that item did obscure really the significance of some of the loans which have taken place over the last months, and in particular those to support the pre raffle light exhibition which you have described Sarah. And this is actually by just the sheer quality and scale of that catalog, just how significant this area of, of painting is, and how significant, much more importantly, parts of our collection are two exhibitions of that sort. It is still international leverage that the Russell coats applies. So, not only is it part of the spirit of this place. It also occupies significantly places elsewhere and to the enormous prestige not only of the gallery, but also just ballmouth. You know, it's often overlooked. I know I have shared with this committee on previous occasions but one of the things that I experienced on a visit to Japan and to Tokyo on behalf of the university. I was in the subway, the Tokyo Metro, which is a labyrinth. And at that time the National Museum of Tokyo was presenting a pre raffle light exhibition and Venus from the Russell coats was the image they were using to publicize that exhibition, and it was in enormous scale throughout the subway system. So you're standing on a platform in Tokyo. And there is the key painting of a born with museum. I don't think people often are as alert to the importance of that type of export as they are to other things. So this is neither a bucket nor a spade. This is absolute international prestige. Thank you for that. Sarah, and I think it's necessary for us to formally approve. These are as I are not really disposed of because they've been on loan for a considerable period they're merely being consolidated within the Hampshire wildlife trust are we in agreement. And I'm reading this is that we haven't formally received your earlier report so I assume that we are happy to receive that. Good. That allows us to move to a very important item on our agenda, which is the the update towards the Russell coats becoming an independent trust. I think members are aware of just the enormous amount of work which has gone into this process. And indeed alert to the amount of time, which is taken to get to the point where we are now. And very briefly on an application has been made under Section 73 of the charities act so that the charity commissioners are able to repeal section 57 to which all the men chapel referred to earlier. And to enable the council to be replaced as so trustee by a new corporate trustee, we have now received a schedule from the charity commissioners who have been liaising with our solicitors sharp on the board. And that may be available to us shortly at this meeting. But we are now really waiting for the agreement to the to that schedule. And it being passed back to charity commission as who in turn will pass this to the Department of Culture Media and sport, where under the current arrangements, they will be seeking time for it to be laid as an order in Parliament. And for that order to be subject to negative approval, by which we mean it is not debated. It is laid there. And in as much as there are not objections, it is deemed passed. We do believe that some amendments have been made to the Section 73, which may award the Secretary of State permission to agree. So that would obviate the necessity of it being laid as an ordering Parliament, but we're not clear on this. It has been suggested by Sharp Richard. But if that were to happen we would genuinely be the guinea pig the first to have ever used that particular power. All of you will be alert to the fact that Parliament is purowed, so that order could not be laid at least for three months. And whatever administration takes takes place after July the 4th, there will be a period where parliamentary time is being negotiated. The earliest that we could have such an order if that is what's required would be some six to eight months hence. If it becomes an order if it becomes the Secretary of State's permission, you will be aware that every minister is a minister until July the 4th. So there is a very slim possibility that the Secretary of State could approve this before the election. We will know more of that as we as time progresses. But it's very important to note that there is real progress towards the Russell Coates becoming a fully independent trust. If the committee wish to discuss the appendix, which is available to you, this would only take place in exempt session. And if that is in case I'm bound as you know to read the following exemption. I believe that Sharp Richard will be very happy to speak to that, but will not speak in public session. So is it your wish that we move into an exempt period of this meeting. You're happy for that, yes, George, in which case, let me read the statement. Under section 100 a of the local government act of 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the item of business I have referred to. And that they involve the like since they involve the lightly disclosure of exempt information, as defined in the paragraphs one and two. And in part one of the schedule of the act, and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing it. So, as long as we have agreement on the floor, that is the session we will pass to. That is agreed. Okay. Thank you. 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Summary
The meeting focused on the election of a vice chairman, public questions about the Russell Coates Museum and Gallery, and updates on the museum's activities and future plans. The council also discussed the museum's transition to an independent trust.
Election of Vice Chairman
Councillor Williams was elected as the vice chairman of the Russell Coates Park Gallery Museum Management Committee.
Public Questions
Alderman Chapel, who has been involved with the museum since 1976, asked three questions:
- Annual Grant or Subsidy: The council will not continue to make an annual grant to the new independent company. Instead, a one-time financial support of £2 million has been provided, along with other assets.
- Administration of CLG: The museum, house, and collections are in permanent endowment and cannot be sold or disposed of. Legal advice on this matter will be provided in a written statement.
- New IT, Legal, and Financial Arrangements: The new independent body will procure its own IT, finance, and HR support services.
Russell Coates Museum and Gallery Update
Sarah provided an update on the museum's activities:
- Visitor Numbers: The museum had a record number of 53,000 visitors over the year, despite being closed for four weeks in January.
- Building Concerns: The building is in poor repair, leading to theft and break-ins, although these issues have been resolved.
- Exhibitions: Successful exhibitions included a photography exhibition and an upcoming exhibition called
Artists on Per Bay: Spirit of Place.
- Late Programs: Monthly evening events have been very successful, leading to changes in the number and ticketing of these events.
- University Engagement: The museum has developed projects with Bournemouth University and AUB.
- Funding: The museum received various grants, including £6,000 from the neighborhood still and £84,000 from Julius Starlord's legacy.
Acquisitions and Disposals
- Acquisitions: The museum acquired five studies or sketches by Lucy Kemp-Welch, funded by the Art Fund and Arts Council England.
- Disposals: The council approved the disposal of taxidermy items on loan to the Hampshire Cultural Trust.
Transition to Independent Trust
The council is working towards making the Russell Coates Museum an independent trust. An application has been made under Section 73 of the Charities Act, and the process involves approval from the Charity Commission and possibly the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport. The timeline for this transition depends on parliamentary procedures and approvals.
The meeting concluded with the council moving into an exempt session to discuss further details about the transition to an independent trust.
Attendees
- Andy Martin
- Lawrence Williams
- Lisa Northover
- Fiona Winrow
- Greg Irvine
- Mr Alan Frost External Member
- Sir George Meyrick Baronet
- Stuart Bartholomew
Documents
- Appendix 1 for Acquisitions Loans and Disposals Report
- Agenda frontsheet 03rd-Jun-2024 14.00 Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum Management Committee agenda
- Appendix 2 for Acquisitions Loans and Disposals Report
- Russell-Cotes Art Gallery Museum Update Report
- Acquisitions Loans and Disposals Report
- Policy and procedures for audit and damage and loss
- Update on Progress towards the Russell-Cotes becoming a fully Independent Trust
- Update on Repair and Renewal Project funded by ACE MEND etc for restoration of Conservatory etc
- Appendix 2 for Policy and procedures for audit and damage and loss
- Public reports pack 03rd-Jun-2024 14.00 Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum Management Committee reports pack