As 2020 comes to a close, Andrew shares his reflections on a tumultuous and transformative year for the Museum and what lies ahead. Follow the link below to watch on YouTube.
If you are having trouble viewing the video please see below for the transcript.
“2020 has been a year that we’re not going to forget, are we? And nor should we actually, really, because it’s had impacts both personally and professionally on the Museum. But, I think we’ve adapted tremendously well, and we’ve worked together tremendously well. You know, I’ve always regarded the Museum as a stage upon which we tell stories, and despite COVID I think we’ve adapted tremendously well to make that stage even livelier than we normally do, and I thank you all for that.
Do you know, the response we’ve had from visitors and from people who follow us on all the social media channels and get in touch with us has been heartening, actually, even during times when we’ve been closed. Actually it’s given us great comfort that we’re doing the right thing, and that when things get back to normal they’ll be there for us and I’ve found that tremendously supportive.
This year we’ll have only welcomed around 90,000 visitors, that’s something like about 75% less than we normally would – but we’ve given a great experience for them, and I think it’s been tremendously helpful to be open as much as we possibly can be. But, only welcoming 90,000 visitors as you well know has had a huge impact on our finances. We’ve had to have financial support from the taxpayer of about 5 million pounds, and sometimes I’ve felt like Oliver Twist, actually, just having our hand out all the time, wanting more and more to keep us going. But, we’ve all made sacrifices, and I think through those sacrifices we’ve put ourselves in as best a position as we possibly can be for the future. It feels like we’ve all pulled together.
It seems ironic, doesn’t it, the last twist of the year is that we’re now being set up as a vaccination centre for COVID, and I expect that to happen early in the new year.
Forging Ahead is continuing on, particularly the design work, and I hope to have some good news about that in the coming days and weeks. It feels like Forging Ahead is even more important to our future than maybe it did in the past.
So for now, I wish you a very Happy Christmas wherever you are, and whoever you can be with and I hope for better times in the new year. Thanks very much.”
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