‘It is imperative that you continue to act impartially,’ culture minister Oliver Dowden wrote
The UK government has issued a letter to major public arts institutions, saying that their funding statuses could be breached if they removed controversial monuments and statues.
Controversy over memorials – especially those that reference or honour figures from colonial and slave-trading histories – reemerged this year following the toppling of the statue of slave-trader Edward Colston in Bristol in June.
In a letter dated 22 September to the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate and other prominent galleries, UK culture minister Oliver Dowden wrote of contested monuments: ‘Some represent figures who have said or done things which we may find deeply offensive and would not defend today. But though we may now disagree with those who created them or who they represent, they play an important role in teaching us about our past, with all its faults.’
Dowden went on to say: ‘It is for this reason that the Government does not support the removal of statues or other similar objects […] The significant support that you receive from the taxpayer is an acknowledgement of the important cultural role you play for the entire country. It is imperative that you continue to act impartially, in line with your publicly funded status, and not in a way that brings this into question.’
The minister said that government spending was under particular scrutiny, due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The government announced a £1.57 billion bailout for the UK artworld in July, but closures and layoffs have continued. 10% of staff at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will be made redundant, it was announced today.
In response to Dowden’s letter, the British Museum said in a statement: ‘The British Museum has no intention of removing controversial objects from public display.’
Others have been more critical, with Labour MP David Lammy writing on Twitter: ‘History is littered with autocrats instructing museum curators on what to exhibit, but @OliverDowden knows that. The government prefers a fake culture war to addressing the poverty facing creatives, artists, and producers left whistling in the wind by this government.’
