100 years ago “marked the dawn of a new era”, Cardiff’s Lord Mayor said at the opening of the first dedicated radio station for Wales (BBC 5WA). Since then the BBC has kept the public informed and up to date with events in Britain and across the world. From pandemic updates and politics, war and strikes to immigration and celebrity news and that’s just in the past couple of years.
To celebrate this milestone, National Museum Cardiff has created an exhibition delving into how BBC Wales has developed and evolved since its birth. Looking at technological advances, costumes and programmes as well as exploring how the BBC represents the many different communities in Wales and the wider UK. The Museum prides itself on “inspiring everyone they reach through Wales’s story”. The BBC has been a big part of Wales’s story.
With many culture industries “already in a precarious situation” before Covid, post-Pandemic it has become “unsustainable”. Nationally, museum visits and funding have been on the decline but through balancing finances with public experience, they remain open.
Museums are meant to “contribute to the public’s cultural experience” adding to their lifelong learning. They provide the space and information in an engaging way for people to further their understanding and learning of the wider world and community.
(Palmer, 2023)
Turning up one rainy Friday morning, I was expecting to see more people at the exhibit not just me and an older couple. The Ofcom Annual BBC report 2021-22 shows “ to younger audiences, the BBC appears to be a less established part of their lives when compared with older people who feel they have ‘grown up with’ the BBC”.
However, looking around the exhibit you learn of how the BBC became and continues to be the pioneer in their field, from their news, radio and TV programmes, not forgetting the technological aspects, the cameras, sound and editing. The exhibit emphasises how they try to represent people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures, through the programmes they produce and the news they report on.
The International Council of Museums say Museums should be:
1. “Open to the public, accessible and inclusive…foster diversity and sustainability”
Especially with the rise in living costs, it has become difficult for museums to balance their books. Museums often being in old heritage buildings, not built for purpose, have seen energy costs rise up to 500%.
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) have done research showing people feel comfortable going out again post-covid. The main factor affecting people’s decisions to go or not is the cost of living. The increased price of everything; petrol, train tickets and food has meant the public are still prevented from going to museums even if they are free.
Nonetheless, the museum does what it can to encourage people to go. Still wanting to get the visitors in and provide a free day out for families Cardiff Museum has kept the museum and the temporary exhibition free. Through this, the museum fulfils it role outline by the UNESCO report, to be able to “illustrate the impact it has had in the community and on our culture” as we discover something new. Asking at the museum I was surprised to be told they’ve had between 200-500 visitors each day at the BBC exhibition so they must be doing something right.
2. “Communicate ethically, professionally with participation of communities”
The exhibition was co-developed by the museum and a group of young people to ensure a diverse range of voices were heard in the telling of BBC history. And how they feel the BBC represents them. The more museums do with the community and produce things that impact society positively the more grants and funding they can apply for.
3. “Varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing”
Although the BBC exhibition provides some interactive features such as the boards to add your thoughts and feelings about the BBC. From reminiscing on childhood favourites to the top-rated dramas and shows, you can write what the BBC has meant to you in the past and how this may have changed since going around the exhibition.
However, the main way information has been passed on is through information boards, videos and looking at props and costumes from productions. Despite providing some variety in the way they display the information; it is not very creative or original. However, I can understand why they couldn’t do more due to needing to get all the information out but also trying to keep costs low especially as it’s a free exhibit.
The future of museums greatly rests on us. The next couple of years may be a struggle for many cultural industries. With changing audience needs and demands many difficult economic decisions will be made. So, I encourage you, go to these free museums, take advantage of what they are offering, and donate if you can. But ultimately by going you are showing them people are benefiting from the museums and that the money that goes into them isn’t going to waste.
CREATIVE CONVERSATION 