Heritage Services Annual Review 2020
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2019 Heritage Services Annual Review 2020 For learning, inspiration, and enjoyment 2 Heritage Services Annual Review 2019/20 2019/20 at a glance Visitors 2019/20 +/- 2018/19 Roman Baths 1,163,129 -3% 1,202,491 Fashion Museum 99,900 1% 98,784 Victoria Art Gallery 187,629 0% 187,563 -3% Total 1,450,658 -3% 1,488,838 £24.7m income £62,012 £45 £103 net profit per Heritage Net income £9.6m Net income Services staff member per B&NES per B&NES profit resident household 13% increase on last year people attended private or 53,126 civic events at our venues 124 film days facilitated by Bath Film Office contributed an estimated £2 52,417 565,772 million into the people attended learning and items sold in our local economy community events museums’ shops The Roman Baths & Pump Room South West Tourism Excellence Awards: Large Visitor Attraction of the Year GOLD International Tourism Award GOLD Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award GOLD Bristol, Bath & Somerset Tourism Awards: Large Visitor Attraction of the Year GOLD International Tourism Award GOLD Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award GOLD Autism Friendly Award 2020 VisitEngland Visitor Attractions Quality Scheme 92% nominated for Awards Gold (attractions) and Best Told Story (attractions) The Sandford Award for Heritage Learning was awarded to the Roman Baths in November 2019 The Assembly Rooms South West Tourism Excellence Awards: Business Events Venue of the Year GOLD Bristol, Bath & Somerset Tourism Awards: Business Events Venue of the Year GOLD Fashion Museum VisitEngland Visitor Attractions Quality Scheme 90% World Heritage Site Enhancement Fund Georgian Group National Award (Street Sign Restoration Project) 3 Heritage Services Annual Review 2019/20 Foreword by Stephen Bird MBE As I write this foreword 2019/20 and the huge amount of work that went into under Covid-19 lock- delivering services to residents of Bath and North East down, it is hard to think Somerset and visitors from around the world. The year of anything other than saw a busy programme of engagement activities across the calamitous circum- our sites and out in the community, attended by over stances that blighted 52,000 people. Our museums and exhibitions continued the last two months of to attract large numbers with Toulouse-Lautrec and the 2019/20. After dwindling Masters of Montmartre at the Victoria Art Gallery, alt- visitor numbers through hough sadly cut short by COVID-19, the star show February and March attracting very large numbers. Work continued on the 2020, we finally closed Archway Project, with builders on site throughout the our doors to visitors, researchers, shoppers, diners and year, and on the Wellcome Trust-funded Building a event guests thirteen days before the end of the finan- Healthier City project at Bath Record Office. cial year. The Fashion Museum’s world-class collection continued Some of our team self-isolated and most of us continued to be in demand at major venues with over a million to work from home. Some redeployed to other parts of people seeing its objects displayed on loan at the V&A the Council to help with essential services, while many London, Copenhagen’s Natural History Museum, and others volunteered but were not called upon. Operations New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (twice). team members continued to go into our buildings for essential maintenance and security work, as did Finally, I must thank our front-line staff and those work- curators and archivists to check on collections. I am so ing behind the scenes across the Service for their on- proud of how everyone pulled together to help. going dedication, hard work and expertise. And I cannot finish without paying tribute to the volunteers working Despite the downturn in the last two months of the year, across the Service, stewarding at Victoria Art Gallery we still returned a net profit of £9.6M to help the Council and helping curators and archivists with work on collec- fund essential services in the community. tions and supporting the Learning and Participation pro- gramme of activities throughout the year. It is also important to look back to the majority of Service Aims • To maximise public enjoyment of the world class heritage • To enhance the quality of life for residents of Bath & • To promote understanding and appreciation of North East Somerset different cultures • To enable people to learn from the activities and • To contribute to the district’s economic prosperity achievements of past and present societies through our Business Plan 2019/20 Milestones Grants • Record £9.6M annual profit returned to Council to Fashion Museum support essential services. Donation of £1,000 from West of England Costume So- • More than a million people world-wide saw Fashion ciety for the conservation and display of dolls in the Museum objects at exhibitions in the UK, Denmark, Little and Large display. USA and Australia. Victoria Art Gallery • The Victoria Art Gallery’s Toulouse-Lautrec exhibi- For the first time Heritage Services used a crowdfund- tion, sadly cut short by Covid-19, attracted a record ing appeal to raise money. The Art Fund Art Happens 12,435 visitors in just 33 days. crowdfunding campaign was a great success and raised • Bath Film Office facilitated filming in Bath for ITV’s £12,956 for the Toulouse Lautrec and the Masters of police drama McDonald and Dodds, period drama Montmartre exhibition and activity programme. Belgravia; and Netflix’s Regency series Bridgerton. The Gallery also received £39,670 from the Arts Council • Nicolas Poussin’s The Triumph of Pan was exhibited National Project Grants for this exhibition. at the Victoria Art Gallery from April to July 2019 as Bath Record Office part of the National Gallery’s Masterpiece Tour Bath Record Office was awarded a grant of 2019. £169,117 by the Wellcome Trust to catalogue and • New commercial offers were launched: The conserve records relating to slum clearance and council Roman Baths developed its own take on the popular housing in Bath from 1890-1995, as part of the Building Escape Room with Roman Rescue; Victoria Art a Healthier City project. Gallery ran a combined exhibition and film offering, Moulin Rouge and the Masters of Montmartre includ- ed late opening at the Gallery and the screening of the film Moulin Rouge at the Little Theatre. 4 Heritage Services Annual Review 2019/20 Community, Learning, & Engagement 15,273 37,108 3,814 185 1,477 117 learning visitors to participants at objects viewed at events held at our Fashion Museum researchers helped objects viewed at the Roman Baths, community 3,311 research sites by the Roman 151 study Fashion Museum activities appointments Baths Collections appointments with Team and Victoria Art facilitated by Bath 320 groups Gallery Record Office or individuals Roadshows Learning & Participation The Roman Baths delivered the following community • The Roman Baths received the Sandford Award for events: Heritage Learning at the V&A Museum of Childhood in November. • Bath World Heritage Day, 18 April 2019, Green Park Station. Stalls and talks were organised on the theme • The Roman Baths joined other heritage sites across of Architecture and Engineering . the country to be part of Poetry of Place. We welcomed poet Neil Rollinson to work with local • Festival of British Archaeology, July 2019. Partnership groups and perform at a poetry evening event in July. with Sydney Gardens Parks Department for National Lottery Heritage Fund Project. More than 250 people • Victoria Art Gallery workshop leaders developed attended The Deathly Secrets of Sydney Gardens to activities for local schools and community groups as learn about the history of death and burial in the part of the National Gallery’s Masterpieces Tour: The gardens. Triumph of Pan. • Museum Roadshow, Batheaston and Beyond held in Batheaston Scout Hut on 29 October 2019. Bath Record Office also took part in community events: • World Heritage Day held at Green Park Station,18 April 2019. • Bristol and Avon Family History Society Fair, 28 September 2019 . World Heritage Day at Green Park Station The Roman Baths museum roadshow at Batheaston Scout Hut Events5 Heritage Services Annual Review 2019/20 Fashion Museum • 7 practical making workshops were held in partnership with the Royal School of Needlework. • 12 Saturday Sketching sessions encouraged self -led sketching in the Fashion Museum galleries. • 11 Children’s activities developed and delivered. The Roman Baths • 33 days of Togas and Tunics sessions transformed visitors with Roman attire. • 1 Evening Explorers event opened the site up to visitors with autism. • 6 Words on Wednesdays events looked at objects from the Roman Baths’ collections. • 1 Poetry of Place evening event. • 6 Science Busking events as part of British Science Week. • 1 Day School: The Ancient Romans & their gods. • 250 visitors took part in the Museums at Night event in the Pump Room. • 3 Museum Stores Open Days opened up the museum’s collection to pre-booked tours. • 2 Roadshows: Midsomer Norton Arts Festival and Batheaston Scout Hut. • 270 participants at the Festival of Archaeology in partnership with Sydney Gardens. • 40 Tai Chi on the Terrace morning sessions. • 6 Above & Below tours at the Roman Baths. Victoria Art Gallery • 9 Art Store Tours looked at the collection stored behind the scenes. • 2 artists’ lunchtime talks were held at the Gallery. • 20 family events developed and delivered. • 8 Art on Mondays talks for the visually impaired. • 3 lunchtime talks related to the James Tower exhibition were held in the Guildhall. • 9 Collection Highlights Tours. • 2 Artist in Residence sessions with Harriet Dahan -Bouchard life-drawing from a model. • 1 combined exhibition and film event linked to the exhibition Toulouse Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre. World Heritage • Bath World Heritage Day was held on 18 April at Green Park Station; over 700 visitors attended.