SUBMISSION 12
Memorandum submitted by Mr Leslie Hardcastle
OBE
I wish to address the subject of the Museum
of the Moving Image.
The Museum of the Moving Image must be re-opened.
But it will have to be a new museum as the original that delighted
and fulfilled the needs of millions of visitors, young and old,
British and from overseas, has now been systematically destroyed.
THE MOMI
EXPERIENCE
MoMI was a museum of participation and experience,
not of artifacts. Its innovative hands-on approach has been copied
by many new museums and specialist exhibitions. It was conceived
by its originators as an educational, working exhibition, rather
than a traditional museum and grew out of the firmly held belief
that there was an important story to tell: the story the development
and influence of the moving images of cinema and television on
all our lives.
The story is one to which everyone could relate,
whether they be grand-parents, who once formed the audiences of
the `30s and `40s when nearly one and a half million people went
to the cinema in the UK each year, or their grand-children who,
by the age of 18 years, have spent two whole years looking at
television.
The bfi was particularly anxious to make
its work known and accessible to the general public, and especially
to young people. It was widely acknowledged that MoMI succeeded
in this ambition, opening up a whole new sphere of operation for
the bfi, with new audiences of all ages, levels of knowledge,
and appreciation and prompted further interest and enquiry.
MoMI's educational programme was exceptional
and far reaching. It provided access and understanding to a wide
range of groups, ranging from schools, special needs groups, people
with learning difficulties, the handicapped. There was even a
programme for the blind. There were courses in animation, out-reach
projects with London schools and adult education establishments,
countless lectures and demonstrations by film and television makers,
technicians and specialists; a whole series of changing exhibitions
of high quality; videos, printed documentation and educational
merchandise. All were linked, wherever possible, to the school
curriculum.
THE FUNDING
OF MOMI
MoMI cost in the region of £14 million:
£10 million to design and construct a highly versatile and
adaptable exhibition building, a further £3 million for the
museum exhibits and £1 million for research, preparation
and launch costs. A guarantee against loss provided for the first
year of operation was not needed as MoMI attracted nearly 500,000
visitors in the first 18 months of operation. It received 11 international
awards in the same period, ranging from top tourist attraction
to awards for cultural merit.
MoMI One was entirely funded by gifts of money
from benefactors from home and abroad who had been persuaded to
support the vision of MoMI by the negotiating skill of the bfi
director at that time, Anthony Smith. No public money was involved.
MoMI opened in 1988. It was required to be completely
self-supporting from day one (just as the National Film Theatre
had been 36 years earlier in 1952). Fund raising for improvements,
renewals and additions was vigorously and successfully pursued
during the first six years: in 1994, for example, staff collectively
raised £300,000.
THE CLOSURE
OF MOMI
ONE
The closure of MoMI One in 1999 raises a number
of questions.
It was said that it had lost a million pounds.
This is difficult to challenge without access to the figures and
without knowledge of internal costings and management practices
operating at the time. Were unreasonable expectations made regarding
attendance, for example; were unreasonable overheads placed on
the budget.
It was said that MoMI's displays and equipment
needed upgrading: this should not have been necessary if they
had been properly managed and maintained.
If attendance was failing and losses were as
great as suggested, it is appropriate to enquire what efforts
were made to address the problems. This was a period when efforts
needed to be put into promotion, but this does not appear to have
happened. It is also well documented that pay museums suffer a
drop in attendance in the fifth year of operation.. In the case
of MoMI One this did not start to happen until much later and
provision had been made for such a likelihood in the form of an
endowment. Why was this used for other purposes?
No efforts were made to raise the alarm and
create public concern as to the future of MoMI. No efforts were
made to take advantage of the wide ranging support enjoyed by
MoMI to raise funds and elicit help from its many supporters.
No consultation took place with benefactors or others, before
it was spun out of existence with the much published but empty
promise that it would be redeveloped in five to eight years time,
making it impossible for its supporters to mount a campaign to
save it. Now the Museum exhibits have been wastefully destroyed
and its technical support services dismantled.
MOMI TWO
If MoMI Two is created there is a view that
it would be best if it were separately administered, with its
own voluntary executive board. As for its location, the original
MoMI benefactors have already paid £10 million for an elegant,
versatile, purpose-built exhibition building on the South Bank.
Why not use it?
If MoMI Two becomes a reality it is important
that it is based on similar educational concepts to those of MoMI
One, not on the false premise that MoMI was or should be based
on the display of three dimensional artifacts in the traditional
sense, a view recently promoted by the bfi and clearly
illustrated in the extremely expensive and barren traveling exhibition
which disappeared after a short run in Sheffield in 2002.
The originators of MoMI One submitted to the
bfi seven years ago an innovative concept and design for
a MoMI Two. The ability to update, extend and change is essential
in maintaining attendance. Using a new method of presentation,
MoMI Two would have the capacity for regular change, with one
third of the presentation constant and two thirds able to be regularly
changed.
The closure of MoMI One was a mistake. We live
in a world of visual communication. Our social and political beliefs,
our appreciation of others, and sometimes our misconceptions of
"how things really are" are all influenced by what we
see in the cinema, on the television and other electronic image
systems. For "seeing is believing". Within the realm
of moving images misunderstanding and enlightenment go hand in
hand. It is important that people are visually literate, especially
the young, and are able to understand and challenge what they
see. It is also important to be aware of Britain's contribution
to the story, both past and future, particularly in the world
of television. An imaginatively designed, competently managed
and appropriately financed MoMI Two based on a strong concept
must be created to fulfil this need.
28 February 2003
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