‘I won’t go into York Art Gallery till its free’ – councillor joins residents’ ‘strike’
A York councillor is refusing to step foot into the renovated York Art Gallery in protest at plans to charge residents an entry fee when it reopens.
York Museums Trust has asked the council to remove the clause in its management contract that ensures York citizens have free access to the city’s art treasures.
This will be discussed by the learning and scrutiny committee on Wednesday (July 29) at 5.30pm. An hour later executive member Councillor Ayre will decide whether to allow the trust to impose a fee.
Cllr Taylor, who chairs the learning and scrutiny committee, says:
Art should be for everyone, not just for the elite, and the city needs to take a step back from this decision and work out how to increase public access rather than reduce visitor numbers to a handful of wealthy tourists and the well-off in society.
People’s art gallery
York Art Gallery is due to re-open to the public on Saturday (August 1) but protesters are organise a pop-up York Free Art Gallery from 11am in Exhibition Square.
People will be able to express their own creativity through their own art works, to be added to the open exhibition.
Organisers say they want to “develop an active community around the art gallery linking the city’s collections with all the public of York as creators of York’s art, culture, history and heritage.”
As for the gallery Cllr Taylor will be staying away for the foreseeable future.
I shall join them in an ‘Art Strike’ until we can sort this out.
He said people are welcome to register to speak at the meetings at West Offices on Wednesday evening: “Please come and make your views known.”
Hundreds of petition signatures
An online petition calling for the art gallery to remain free had garnered nearly 650 signatures by Tuesday, July 28.
More than 200 people had added their comments to the site. Here are a few.
Charging entrance will put a stop to visits by poorer individuals and families. That defeats the object of public galleries.
– Robert Camp, York
– Ollie, Scarborough
– Ian Weston, UK
– Rebecca Tallerman, Hull
– Jo Walton, Middlesbrough
Greedy York council,all the tourism York has ,and every shop that closes reopens for the tourist, more and more cafes and restaurants,all more income/revenue for the council,but York residents to pay £7.50 entry to Gallery,which i was so looking forward to visiting,disgusting,used to love going in for coffee and cake also so cafe will suffer.mavis.west a Pensioner.
But who goes to galleries unlimated times a year. It is still no more than a provincial gallery. Now if it was the V&A, I used to go every week. But I have no interest in studio pottery!
And another thing. The museums are losing funding. But so are many residents in York. This will be unaffordable for many in York.
OK, Ashley, if it’s 32p per visit why not charge that. Per visit.
Ashley it is not 0.42 a week. If you only go once it is over £7 and if you want to take friends it becomes £30 or £40. Lower attendance affects concession sales etc. Your maths is naive. I have lived in York for 8 years and have only visited the gallery twice. So now it becomes expensive. Proper sponsorship and quality chargeable exhibitions are the way forward.
There are messages on Twitter knocking around claiming that the Labour / Green parties that colluded towards the end of the last administration voted through a £900,000 cut to the Museum subsidy.
If that’s correct that Cllr Taylor is somewhat of a hypocrite…
I have no problem with a charge but why go from one extreme to another. The gallery is a decent provincial gallery. I am from Leicester originally. They have one of the best German Expressionist displays in UK. Birmingham has the Pre-Raphaelites. Both are still free (?). And what about the V&A in London. They tried a £5 charge. It failed and was scrapped. A charge, ok, but rethink the amount. Perry Grayson does not justify such a charge!
All those who voted for futher austerity ie a Tory government should not complain now about the cuts in funding and subsequent need to charge.
1) All galleries,including Exhibition Square should be free to the public.
2) The standards of local artists is so high that it beats me why the main gallery won’t open up to local exhibitions in view to show to the public and to sell.(And outsell the masters). The elitists will buy masters to keep up with the Joneses….., other than that the tourists also come to York in search for local friendly galleries and cannot find them,let alone information in the tourist office.: I heard it said once by an Exhibition Square Gallery official………,”They’re not worthy enough”
Van Gogh was poor, he got his pints from his local for every painting he did…; I guess he wasn’t worthy enough either to go on the bigger stage.
It’s £17 with a York card – but that costs £5 – so you’ll still be paying £ 22. – a reduced residents fee would be more acceptable
Do people really think £0.32p / £0.42p a week for unlimited access to the gallery throughout the year including all the new exciting exhibitions is expensive? I really don’t. I would rather pay that than have it free then pay extra for an exhibition I want to see when it comes up which if you look at Tate Britain as an example will cost you around £12.00 each time and only under 12s go free…
‘In February, it was announced that the Museums Trustâs grant from the city council was to be slashed by £500,000: leaving just £600,000 a year in council funding. Three years ago, it was £1.5 million. But cuts to arts and heritage budgets are happening everywhere, not just in York. And with austerity set to continue organisations like the Museums Trust are going to have to stand on their own two feet more, and learn to operate more like businesses. âThatâs how we will survive.â’ York Press
So in that case I think £0.32p isn’t bad! It’s providing 11 new full time jobs at the gallery as well as 100 already in place. Small price to pay for this gallery to continue on and thrive.
I believe Cllr Taylor works at City Screen Cinema. Given his belief that all art should be free, I presume he’ll be boycotting the cinema and encouraging others to do the same until it’s free for York Residents.
£17 a year – when was that decided that is news to me Ashley Hyde, I’m pretty sure that figure wasn’t reported by the press. Still abit more pricey than the York Card though.
£17 a year – when was that decided that is news to me Ashley Hyde, I’m pretty sure that figure wasn’t reported by the press. Still abit more pricey than the York Card though.
My comment is there for all to see – but they got my location wrong…I’m Jo Walton from York.
If he loves art so much he should invest in it’s welfare and upkeep. A rebel without a clue
If he loves art so much he should invest in it’s welfare and upkeep. A rebel without a clue
This is totally overshadowing the hard work that everyone involved has put into this project! All for the small fee of £0.32p a week (what it works out at). This is a bargain. I just want to say thank you to everyone at the York Art Gallery and York Museums Trust for all your hard work – blood / sweat and most probably tears… you have achieved something fantastic despite the negativity that surrounds this small fee. Well done to you all because you deserve it!
This is totally overshadowing the hard work that everyone involved has put into this project! All for the small fee of £0.32p a week (what it works out at). This is a bargain. I just want to say thank you to everyone at the York Art Gallery and York Museums Trust for all your hard work – blood / sweat and most probably tears… you have achieved something fantastic despite the negativity that surrounds this small fee. Well done to you all because you deserve it!
With a York Museum Trust card if you are a york resident it is £17 a year (£0.32p a week) to enjoy not only the Art Gallery but also Castle & Yorkshire Museum – unlimited number of times. Personally I think this is a great deal and an absolute bargain. To have this wonderful place open again on our doorstep – £0.32p to maintain it a week is a small fee to pay. Especially when you can take children in free with a paying adult. How many places in York / Yorkshire offer something like this? Not many!
With a York Museum Trust card if you are a york resident it is £17 a year (£0.32p a week) to enjoy not only the Art Gallery but also Castle & Yorkshire Museum – unlimited number of times. Personally I think this is a great deal and an absolute bargain. To have this wonderful place open again on our doorstep – £0.32p to maintain it a week is a small fee to pay. Especially when you can take children in free with a paying adult. How many places in York / Yorkshire offer something like this? Not many!
Yes, but when you have older children, and are on a low income, paying out a lump sum of £68 (4x£17) is unfeasable. A deal is only great if you can afford it to begin with.
Lad ðð»
what do you expect with the money grabbing wasteful york council!!