National Museum of Wales Artworks Under Threat from Rain
December 7 2023
Picture: walesonline.co.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Cardiff in Wales that the National Museum of Wales' chief executive Jane Richardson has called for emergency help to fix the building's leaky roof problem. The museum, which houses a significant collection of Old Masters and Impressionist works, is said to have staff called on standby every time it rains.
According to the article linked above:
In a damning statement to the Senedd's culture committee, Jane Richardson told Senedd members: "When we are expecting a storm or heavy rain, we have to put the staff on standby so they can come into the building in the middle of the night to take paintings off the wall. I’m not exaggerating there, that is what our staff do. We never, ever compromise the safety of the works … but that is the reality of my colleagues’ working life at the moment.”
An estimated £25m is required to put the museum's premises into a good state of repair and comes in the context of increasing threats of cuts to the budgets for cultural institutions.
