Coronavirus: Europe's top museum directors say everything has changed

Museum and exhibition directors unveil plans to adapt to life after lockdown

Tourists take a selfie in front of Trevi Fountain during phase 2 of the COVID-19 coronavirus emergency in Rome, Italy, 18 May 2020 EPA

Museum directors across Europe are making tentative plans to operate under social distancing as nations emerge from lockdown.

After months of government-imposed lockdowns to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak, directors of museums and exhibitions face a growing list of problems and are working on radically overhauling how they do business.

Tourists have been grounded, museums are operating with a large deficit and curators and staff face the task of convincing an uneasy public that they can be safe and still enjoy exhibitions under social distancing measures.

Speaking at an online seminar organised by the Italian embassy in London, Gabriele Finaldi, director of Britain’s National Gallery, said until tourists returned, galleries were going to have to appeal more to local visitors.

“Our museums are places that act as a magnet for tourism to those particular cities, whether it is London, Naples, Milan or Paris,” Mr Finaldi said.

“We will be working very much more with our local audiences. That is probably very much a good thing."

Xavier Bray, director of The Wallace Collection in the UK, said rekindling confidence and rethinking areas such as cafes in museums and exhibitions was also a challenge.

“The main thing is going to be earn the confidence of our public," Mr Bray said.

"There is tourism on one side, but then museums are also great meeting places, where people can find themselves not only with works of art but also with their friends.

“There will be lots of experimentation but I think it is very much going to be baby steps.”

We will be looking very closely how other models work

Matteo Lafranconi, director of Le Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, said he would work carefully with colleagues to see how the public responded to museums reopening.

“We need to see what the response of the audience will be,” Mr Lafranconi said.

"We need the support of their attention and we need to see if it is working. It needs to be proved in the next few days.”

On Monday, the Acropolis in Greece welcomed visitors and in Italy archaeological sites and public parks opened for the first time.

In Germany, museums were allowed to open earlier in May but directors reopened their attractions cautiously, making sure their employees and the public were ready for the unprecedented changes to their spaces.

A view of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, Monday, May 18, 2020 as museums reopen with Italy slowly lifting sanitary restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown AP

Countries around the world at different stages in the pandemic are wrestling with decisions on when to ease restrictions, weighing the threat to life against that to economic survival.

More than 4.71 million people are reported to have been infected by the coronavirus and 312,826 have died, recent figures show.

Italy, with the third highest death toll in the world, is reopening, as other European nations such as Britain, which finds itself behind only the US in terms of deaths, has kept most public spaces closed.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has threatened the financial stability of many of Europe’s most prestigious institutions, including those that are partly funded by the government.

In March, Germany’s federal government unveiled a €50 billion (Dh200.45bn/US$54.58bn) aid package to support the country’s creative and cultural sectors.

Mr Bray called for a similar kind of government response in Britain to show the public that life was returning to normal.

“It is very much the government that should come up with a recovery plan, very much like the German museum system and needs to put us back on our feet,” he said.

“The government could think really hard about using the museum as a way of demonstrating that our society is coming back to some kind of normality, that museums are open."

By artist @tanaka_tatsuya, whose work is part of a Miniature Life exhibition in Fukushima, Japan. Via @tanaka_tatsuya / Instagram

In a work reminiscent of an Edward Hopper painting, Johanna Tordjman depicts a lonesome figure looking out to an image of an empty street. Via @j.tordjman / Instagram

Dave Pollot's still life series includes cleaning materials that are in demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Via @davepollotart / Instagram

Ertan Atay's work often involves reimagining well-known images and paintings. Via @failunfailunmefailun / Instagram

Artist and photographer Marius Sperlich produced this image as a way to share health and safety guidelines for Covid-19. Via @mariussperlich / Instagram

Catherine White, a director, writer and art director based in Montreal, launched #Coronartbalance, “a kinder, gentler virus that awakens creative minds”, which is an invitation to compose sculptures with what surrounds us at home. Via @cathwhitecath / Instagram

Photographer Jeremy 'Jerm' Cohen, who lives and works in Brooklyn, captures this moment of rooftop sport. Via @jermcohen / Instagram

'Infected Childhood', by AOS, commentingon the impact of Covid-19 on the psyche of children. Via @aos.art / Instagram

Social distancing on the beach. Artwork by Santi P. Seoane. Via @santi_p.seoane / Instagram

Part of a series of portraits by Danae Savage depicting life in quarantine. Via @dnicolephotog / Instagram

A digital artwork by Icy and Sot, with a caption that says: "These days are reminding us that we are all equal, regardless of our race, culture, religion or gender." Via @icyandsot / Instagram

Toilet paper is a recurring motif in current pandemic art. Via @luisamariabenito / Instagram

"No gloves were harmed in the making of this picture," writes Paola de Grenet, a photographer living in Barcelona. Via @paola_de_grenet / Instagram

Florence's cityscape, with people busy cooking in their homes. Created by painter Pierpaolo Rovero. Via @pierpaolorovero / Instagram

Fantasy features highly in artist Indigo's digital creations. Via @indg0 / Instagram

Contained at home: a digital work by photographer Zamurovic. Via @zamurovic.photography / Instagram

Artist CJ Lee (@cheoljoolee) said of this work, "I was planning to do simple sketch when beginning, but changed my mind because I saw some of nurse's face. Truly respect the front-line healthcare workers. Thank you all for your dedication and sacrifice". Via @cheoljoolee / Instagram

By Emily Kask (@ek_the_pj): "I’m way too paranoid to touch my phone while I’m out grocery shopping and don’t want to cross contaminate. I wanted a way to write my list down without creating any extra trash." Via @ek_the_pj / Instagram

A coronavirus spread: wipes, disinfectant, toilet paper, gloves and a worrying news story. Created by Jessica Walsh. Via @jessicavwalsh / Instagram

The artist Ammi creates a dark portrait of media consumption in time of Covid-19. Via @eyesofammi / Instagram

Mr Finaldi said: “I think there is some quite serious thought going on now as to whether the model we have used whether that's really sustainable into the future.

“We will be looking very closely how other models work abroad and how they change abroad and whether there is anything we can learn in this country."

A nun wearing a face mask looks up at the window of Pope Francis' studio overlooking St Peter's square as he appears to give his blessing after the Angelus prayer, at the Vatican. AP Photo

Pope Francis looks from the window of the Apostolic palace overlooking St Peter's Square before his blessing to faithful. AFP

People wait for Pope Francis to give his blessing from the window of the Apostolic palace overlooking St Peter's Square. AFP

Soldiers of the Italian 7th CBRN defence regiment 'Cremona' are deployed to sanitise the San Francesco D'Assisi Cathedral, in Civitavecchia, near Rome, Italy. EPA

A medical worker taking a swab sample from a child to be tested for Covid-19, in a street in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. AFP

Lydia Hassebroek says hello to her friend Rose through her kitchen window in Brooklyn, New York, US. Reuters

People sit on the grass in Central Park in New York City, amid the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

Nurses assigned to the Infectious Diseases Unit at the Kenyatta University Hospital dance during a Zumba class held at the hospital compound in Nairobi. AFP

Buses are seen parked before reopening to the public after the government eased a nationwide lockdown in Lahore, Pakistan. AFP

George Washington University graduate Catalina Perez, right, receives a copy of her diploma from neighbour Paula Lytle as they keep a social distance at a surprise graduation party for Perez, who completed her undergraduate studies in International Affairs across the span of 10 years only to miss her commencement due to coronavirus, in Washington, US. Reuters

Faith healers wear face masks as they perform a healing ritual on worshippers in the town of Mbare in Harare, Zimbabwe. EPA