The UK’s secretary of state for culture, Lisa Nandy, has said that the government is in discussions with national museums about the repatriation of certain objects.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Nandy said that ministers are already holding discussions with institutions including the British Museum, after its chair, the former chancellor George Osborne, approached her. There are different views across the museum sector, but Nandy wants the government’s approach to be consistent, says the report.
Conversations surrounding restitution previously gained political traction in 2022, when the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Tristram Hunt, said that legislation which prevents UK national museums from disposing of works should be re-evaluated.
Responding to news that ministers are now exploring the repatriation of precious objects, Hunt told The Art Newspaper: “It is very encouraging to learn that the culture secretary is supportive of repatriation reform and updating the legislation that prevents national museums from deaccessioning objects in their collection. We now look forward to active conversations on this with the ministerial team.”
Meanwhile the newly appointed director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan, is likely to face further calls for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece and the restitution of other objects in the museum’s collection that were acquired in a colonial context.
Osborne said last year that “we can reach an agreement with Greece”, for at least some of the British Museum’s sculptures “to be seen in Athens”. In return, he wants “other treasures from Greece, some that have never left those shores, to be seen here at the British Museum”.
Nandy has also made other pledges this week during the Labour party conference in Liverpool. In a panel conversation organised by the Fabian Society on 22 September, the culture secretary said that a review of Arts Council England would be launched under her watch. The government is looking at “how and why the Arts Council funds what it does”, she said, “to make sure arts and culture reaches every part of the country”.
In a recent report, Arts For Us All, the Arts and Creative Industries Policy Unit at the Fabian Society recommends undertaking a comprehensive review of arts funding, covering funding bodies such as Arts Council England and the National Lottery.
Nandy also reiterated that the “culture wars”—in part, a right-wing strategy focused on cultural issues such as the validity of historic monuments—are now over. “I’m not interested in patching up broken systems—we will tackle [and employ] a much longer term strategy that enables our arts to thrive well into the latter half of this century.”
The culture secretary went on to outline her plans for a national arts renaissance. “The arts is an ecosystem; things done in one part of the country enormously benefit others. Our ambition to make sure that everyone can share in that success is in no way about trying to level down, it is about trying to add…
“We want to get far more cultural assets held in London out around the country; in turn everybody can feel those big institutions belong to them… there is so much great art and culture produced all over the country and I want to make sure we give [those projects] national prominence so that it’s two-way street.”
Works from London museums are already sent to UK regions under initiatives such as the National Gallery’s National Treasures scheme whereby 12 major works such as Constable’s The Hay Wain (1821) and Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire (1839) were loaned to regional institutions.
The UK department for Culture, Media and Sport was contacted for comment.
UPDATE: In her address to the Labour Party conference 24 September, Nandy stressed that "a complete education is a creative education. And that is why Bridget [Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women & Equalities] and I have kickstarted a review of the curriculum to put arts, sports and music back at the heart of our schools and communities where it belongs."