Unethical disposal could endanger public trust, say museum bodies

Financially motivated sales from collections pose a danger to public trust, museum bodies have said in a joint statement.

Coordinated by Arts Council England and signed by organisations across the sector, including the Museums Association (MA), the statement outlines the guidelines and actions around the ethical management of collections and the sector’s collective position on this issue.

It says: “As a group of key funding, development, and membership bodies of the museum sector, we believe in an ethical approach towards managing museum collections. Collections should be relevant, sustainable and well-managed for the public to enjoy.

“Every museum should review their collections. Disposal is part of responsible collections management, but museum collections should not be sold for financial gain. 

“The UK museum sector has worked within the Museums Association Code of Ethics for museums for more than 40 years, and accreditation is one of the most mature and developed standards for museums practice in the world. Together they provide clear guidance on public benefit, collections care and acquisition and disposal of collections.

“The principles of the Code of Ethics in relation to collections development are enshrined within Museum Accreditation. Proactive collections management, including disposal of items following curatorial review is actively encouraged.

“However, the code and Accreditation make it clear that financially motivated sale from collections is only ethical in rare and exceptional circumstances. The overriding expectation in all cases of disposal is that collections should remain in the public domain.”

The statement goes on to outline the reputational and developmental implications of unethical collections sale, including the loss of Museum Accreditation and erosion of partnerships with other sector bodies.

• Read the statement in full on the Arts Council England website

The statement comes at a time of unprecedented financial pressure on museums, as well as a funding crisis for local authorities, with several councils issuing Section 114 notices over the past few years to effectively declare themselves bankrupt.

In some of these cases, Section 114 commissioners have reportedly listed museum collections as financial assets that may be disposed of in order to balance a council’s books.

The MA's director, Sharon Heal, said museum collections “cannot and must not be seen as financial assets”.

She said: “The MA supports this clear statement about unethical sale from museums. We are seriously concerned about the possibility of unethical sales from collections, especially at this time of unprecedented financial pressure on the sector.

“Whilst we encourage museums to be more proactive in their approach to disposal, we have to strike a balance between dynamic collections management and protecting and preserving collections for future generations.

“Collections cannot and must not be seen as financial assets to be sold at whim when times are hard. We encourage museums to use our Off the Shelf toolkit, which supports museums to work with communities to make the best use of our rich and diverse collections.”