The Rt Hon George Osborne, Chair of the British Museum, addressed those that attended the annual Trustees' dinner on Wednesday 13th November.
The whole speech is available to read and we've added the link here.
There is a great deal to gleam from George Osborne's words. Over and above the huge investment that is being made to upgrade and improve the fabric of the museum, the outdoor entrance area and galleries, there is the view that with six million visitors, the purpose of the British Museum remains hugely important.
George Osborne lands on the premise that visitors head to the British Museum to think. "It took one of many amazing artists we have in the room with us today to illuminate that for me so clearly, Hew Locke. Hew has curated a wonderful exhibition here that challenges us to consider the origins of parts of this collection, and links with Britain's imperial part. We're no longer afraid to have the conversations inside these walls that are taking place outside them."
"Hew says this in his introduction to the show: 'I go to the British Museum to think.' And it captures our purpose today and our mission tomorrow. We want our visitors to have a good time, to enjoy the experience.... we don't want their coming here to be an ordeal, like a dose of cod liver oil. But we also want their visit to be something more than a tick on a global bucket-list. We want each of those six million visitors to leave better citizens of the world for coming here."
In 1753 when the museum first opened, founder, Hans Sloane wanted the museum to be 'as useful as possible.... for the improvement... of all persons.
Osborne acknowledges that this was a bold claim and that it remains a bold claim particularly in this era.
"We can no longer be a temple to western ascendancy - nor hide from our visitors the true stories of how some of this collection was assembled. But respect for the sensitivities and a commitment to tell the whole truth- if such a thing is possible- should not morph into a wishy-washy neutrality, or cringing embarrassment about our purpose. We believe that if you come through these doors, you'll be a better person for it."
From these words George Osborne links that visitors to the British Museum will become better equipped to understand the present as they view all great civilisations alongside each other, reflecting on what makes us different and what we have also have in common.
For those members of BCRPM that attended the dinner there remains the hope that when the proposals for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles are agreed upon by the Greek government and the announcement is made, that the thinking will result in giving all museum visitors hope for the future of institutions that set their stall out to better humanity as a whole. From the cries of Byron and others at what happened at the turn of the 19th century in Athens, to what twenty-first visionaries can do to restore by showing understanding and respect for a peerless collection of sculptures, which can only ever belong to the Parthenon.
We remind ourselves of past Chair of BCRPM, Eddie O'Hara's words published 25th October 2014, a decade ago:
"The Parthenon and its sculpted elements are a single artistic entity. Their integrity is compromised as long as they are divided. Clearly the sculptures can no longer be replaced on the building, but the Acropolis Museum is unique in being the only place where these sculptures can be viewed in line of sight with the Parthenon itself.
The moral and cultural case for reunification is overwhelming and enough. Time to tell the story as it deserves to be told and for all humanity to applaud."
