National gallery defends move to charge for new exhibition

The National Gallery of Ireland has defended its decision to charge for entry to a new exhibition which showcases artworks acquired over the last decade.

While it is usual for touring exhibitions to require paid tickets, artwork forming the gallery’s permanent collection have been typically free to observe.

New Perspectives, which opened on May 11th after the gallery had been closed for many months due to Covid-19 restrictions, comprises works acquired from 2011 to 2020, including art purchased by friends and patrons of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI).

A gallery spokeswoman said most of the costs of the exhibition programme, along with accompanying events and education activities, are funded “by the gallery, not the public purse”. The ticket price charged by it helps to fund a variety of elements of programming and marketing the exhibition, she said.

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“Although this show is less cost intensive than an exhibition with international loans, all exhibitions are expensive to produce, regardless of where the works are coming from,” she added.

Adult admission to New Perspectives costs over €16 and students are charged about €11 to view New Perspectives. The NGI spokeswoman noted reduced prices on offer at quieter periods and free entry on Monday mornings.

In an opinion piece for the Irish Arts Review in June, critic Aidan Dunne described the decision to charge admission as an “ominous expansion” of the policy of charging entry to expensive touring exhibitions.

“You are being asked to pay to see works, gifted or purchased with public funds, that now form part of the gallery’s permanent collection,” he wrote. Mr Dunne, who also critiques art for The Irish Times, added that the free accessibility of the gallery’s collection has “long been a cornerstone of gallery policy”.

When Minister for Arts Catherine Martin announced the provision of €500,000 in capital funding to support the gallery’s acquisitions programme for 2020, director of the National Gallery of Ireland Sean Rainbird noted that the expanding national collection “of course belongs to the people of Ireland”.

Unease at decision

The Sunday Times had reported that several of the gallery’s former board members expressed disquiet over the decision to charge the public to see the exhibition. The paper quoted an anonymous former board member who said the decision was a “retrograde step” that meant the public was being “charged on the double”, while another said the move marked a “significant change and not one for the better”.

However, former NGI board member and artist Mick O’Dea said the gallery finds itself in “extraordinary circumstances” due to the pandemic. Mr O’Dea, who has paintings on display there, said the coffee shop and book shop are important revenue streams for the organisation and these had been closed for months due to public health restrictions.

“The NGI raises a considerable amount of their own funds. It’s been wonderful that they have acquired so much quality art over the decade, in particular supporting contemporary artists by acquiring their work . . . Most of the works have already been on exhibition for free and will be again,” he said.

“I know that artists would prefer that there was no charge . . . It’s not ideal, but the past year-and-a-half have not been ideal either,” he added.

The NGI spokeswoman noted that many temporary displays are free to enter, as is the permanent collection not included in this exhibition.