As the Possibility of Museum Closures Loom in the UK, the Tate’s Paintings Are Stranded in Hong Kong

As the
threat from the coronavirus escalates in the UK, museums are
quietly taking special measures to protect staff, visitors, and
collections.

Rather
than sending couriers overseas, the Tate has decided to extend its
loan of more than 70 works by artists including Turner, Constable,
and David Hockney to the virus-shuttered Hong Kong Museum of Art.
The objects will remain there through May.

Meanwhile, National Gallery staff and director
Gabriele Finaldi, who were due to travel to Japan for the opening
of a blockbuster loan exhibition of masterworks at
the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, will remain in
London. The Tokyo museum has
been under lock down since February 29 as a precautionary measure.
It is due to reopen on March 16. 

The British Museum was the first
institution in the country to note the coronavirus on its website,
reassuring visitors: “We continue to closely review the advice from
Public Health England who assess the UK risk as moderate.” The
Victoria & Albert Museum has also added a similar notice on its
website.

Asked
by Artnet News about their coronavirus contingency plans, several
institutions repeated the same official message, stressing that
they are monitoring the situation closely. None would divulge any
specific details. But Artnet News understands that institutions
in South Kensington,
which include the V&A, the Science Museum, and the Natural
History Museum, are consulting with each other behind the
scenes.

Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the Tower
of London and other heritage attractions, says it has “installed
extra handwash/sanitizer in public and staff
areas.” 

A Passive Approach? 
 

“We
are hoping to see a more proactive approach,” says Clara Paillard,
the president of the trade union PCS, which has members who work in
front-of-house roles and behind-the-scenes at museums across the
UK, including the big, London-based nationals.

She
says senior managers should be open about a host of employment
issues, should the situation become more urgent.

It is
unclear what will happen, for instance, to most part-time staff,
those on casual contracts, or those who work for subcontractors
should museums be forced to close. But the National Museums
Liverpool have confirmed to PCS that any staff who fall ill and have to
self-quarantine will continue to be paid. 

In addition, if schools are
forced to close, as they have been in Italy, staff who have to care
for young children will also be paid. 

The National Gallery also says
it will continue to pay people who have been asked to self-isolate,
and it will not count those days against their sick leave
allotment.

The UK government’s latest
coronavirus guidance states that large-scale gatherings might have
to be suspended. But the country’s department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport did not respond to repeated requests
about its latest advice to the museums it funds.

The
Association of Independent Museums has been proactive about its
advice to institutions across the UK,
however. It is
consulting its members with plans that it will begin publishing
next week. 

Artnet News, which has seen a preview of some of the advice, can
report that museums are being advised “not to dismiss” the public’s fear about the
virus. They are also being informed that, should employees be
instructed by doctors to self-isolate after traveling abroad,
museums must still pay the employee’s wages.

In the
US, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has also been proactive.
It advises museums to “maintain flexible policies that permit
employees to stay home to care for a sick family member.” AAM also
stresses the importance of emergency planning to ensure
“collections are in stable condition to withstand being left alone
for days.” 

The post As the Possibility of Museum Closures Loom in the
UK, the Tate’s Paintings Are Stranded in Hong Kong appeared
first on artnet News.