Galleries boss tells Culture Committee she ‘honestly’ cannot rule out closures

The head of the National Galleries of Scotland has told MSPs she “honestly” cannot rule out closing galleries after years of “systemic underfunding”.

Director general Anne Lyden insisted that the National Galleries had been “significantly underfunded over many years”.

She also highlighted the growing maintenance backlog for its “ageing estate” and rising staff costs.

She spoke out about the issues facing the organisation as she appeared before MSPs on Holyrood’s Culture Committee.

Back in January, the arts body had warned without “significant change in the near future” it could be “forced to make seismic changes, such as closing one of our buildings”.

And Ms Lyden said she still could not rule that out.

She told MSPs: “The last thing we would want to do would be to have any closures, but I honestly can’t rule that out, particularly without knowing what the budget would be for next year.”

The NGS runs several galleries in Scotland including the National, Portrait, Modern One and Modern Two.

It is responsible for 120,000 works of art and its galleries attracted more than 2.4 million visitors in 2023.

The director general said the organisation had been “successful in managing a balanced budget for this year”.

But Ms Lyden said: “We do have very valid concerns for ongoing years in terms of what we will be able to do.”

She said the organisation was trying to move “into a space where there is more of a commercial mindset and opportunity to raise funds, because we know there will be a shortfall”.

She added that the arts body had suffered from “systemic underfunding over many years”.

While the maintenance backlog had been about £17.5 million back in January, she told the committee this had now risen to around £20 million.

Speaking about its “ageing estate”, she said that “like many cultural bodies, we are working in these amazing buildings, many that date from the 19th century”.

However, she added that the buildings were “also using ageing systems, whether that is from gas boiler heating to needing electrical rewiring and repair”.

Asked about the repairs backlog she said: “There is a long list.

“We need about £4 million a year in terms of tackling that backlog. Last year we received £1.9 million.”

She added that the main National Gallery building on Edinburgh’s Mound “is in need of support in terms of its fabric and infrastructure”, and there is “a real concern for addressing leakages”.

While the organisation was given a £1.75 million increase in funding in this year’s budget, Ms Lyden said this had gone on increased staffing costs.

“The cost of the 35-hour working week, national insurance, pay awards, effectively totalled £1.75 million additional costs,” she told MSPs.

“So it’s gone.”

She added that the organisation’s activities are “funded through self-generated income and sponsorship and fundraising”.

She added that multi-year funding could give the arts body greater “security”, as she said that having annual budgets “is a real challenge” – saying this current arrangement makes staging major international exhibitions “very difficult to do”.

She suggested if the National Galleries, together with the national performing arts bodies had borrowing powers – as the equivalent organisations in England – this could provide them with a “little more security and certainty” that could help them deal with “unexpected occurrences”.