Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Tom Woolley

Petition to Save the National Media Museum, Bradford

After hearing the announcement by the Culture minister Ed Vaizey that no Museum in the Science Museum Group would close and watching the Parliamentary debate last night, the 38 Degrees petition to “Save the National Media Museum” has now ended.

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-national-media-museum-bradford

It’s been heartening to see such support for the Museum from the Bradford MPs and the public opposition to the potential closure has been very passionate. 36,152 people have signed the petition since it was set up on 5th June 2013 following Ian Blatchford’s announcement he might be forced to close one of the Northern Museums. It seems like public opinion has been listened to and the petition has been a galvanising force for the supporters of the National Media Museum.

Please find the petition uploaded to Dropbox at the end of this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2jostfemyxe1meo/save-the-national-media-museum-bradford_form.pdf

Please let me know if you have any problems with the link.

My own personal opinion is that whilst I know budgets are being reduced, the National Media Museum needs financial investment to increase visitor numbers. When visitors were at their peak in 2001–02 this was mainly due to the Star Wars and James Bond temporary exhibitions. Short sighted management means the temporary exhibition space is no longer available, blockbuster populist exhibitions haven’t been hosted and visitor numbers have dwindled. The Museum should be hosting exhibitions focusing on well-known artists and brands such as Pixar, Harry Potter, Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick for example.

Whilst I recognise the importance of a science focus, I personally find this uninspiring—whilst the technology used by Hitchcock to create his films is very interesting and important, his film-making genius surely has to be interpreted through his artistic ability, gift of story telling and talent for directing actors. Exploring photography, film, television, animation and digital media purely through a science and technology lens would be a misinterpretation of the subject. We can’t let the V&A hog all the exciting exhibitions and I’m sure a few blockbuster shows in Bradford would help solve the visitor situation.

I hope the result of the comprehensive spending review next week results in improvement in Bradford, rather than continued reductions, and perhaps the local Council can follow up their support with financial investment in the Museum.

June 2013